Coach Jim Traynor, that’s him with the “Mr. Hockey” himself, Gordie Howe;  that picture was taken over 25 years ago. The clever sign on the right was taken this past weekend, while Traynor was traveling with his 14-and-under youth hockey team in Eastern Canada, he posted the photo to his Facebook page.

The sign says “Your child’s success or lack of success in sports does not indicate what kind of parent you are. But having an athlete that is coachable, respectful,  a great teammate, mentally tough, resilient and tries their best IS a direct reflection of your parenting.” Traynor said “every parent needs to read and understand this”, and he’s dead serious. The writing is literally on the wall, if this isn’t a reality-check for the most intolerable parents, then here’s five more. Continue reading →

Just because you played the game, doesn’t necessarily mean you can coach it. But, that’s exactly what happens, at the NHL level down to the floors of collegiate roller hockey. Athletes call it quits and quickly suit up into different organizational roles, namely coaches.

Former backup goaltender Kevin Mashavejian, now newly appointed Baruch roller hockey head coach, is a classic example of a player turned coach. Ready for the challenging adjustment from goaltender to head coach, Mashavejian says he’s already learned a lot about his team, citing the tryouts and ECRHA preseason as important assessment tools.

I sat down with the rookie coach to find out what he had learned about a hockey preseason and how he transitioned from playing to coaching.

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