Category: Athlete

Ode to the Sedins

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Organization Executive, Parents

I would like to give Kudo’s to the Vancouver Canucks Organization for the amazing events they hosted this past week to celebrate the amazing careers that Henrik (Hank) and Daniel (Danny) Sedin had playing for the Canucks for their entire careers (a true rarity in this day and age of free agency, salary caps).

I was fortunate, as were many other residents of Vancouver, to see two boys drafted by Brian Burke #2 and #3 in the 1999 draft (coincidentally the birth year of my son) and watch them grow into men over the course of 18 amazing years.

#1 Their work ethic was off the charts and not just amazing hockey players, but ATHLETES. 

Even though they may not have been the greatest skaters early or later in their careers, they worked on becoming better every practice and off seasons for their entire career.  This not only included working on skating but all other core hockey skills AND balance, agility, strength, aerobic capacity.

This could be part of the reason why; check out this short video highlighting the differences of the Swedish Hockey Development Model vs. other nations and they now have the highest per capita number of players in the NHL as a result.

#2 They were extremely humble during their careers and still are

For them it was all about the team, including when their contracts came up for renewal, they accepted contracts lower than market value so they could help the team succeed which included the amazing run to the Stanley Cup in 2011 (the Canucks third since entered the league but still looking to win their last game).

#3 Founding the Sedin Family Foundation

Founded by both Hank and Danny and their wives to celebrate people, recognize achievements and address the needs of family and children and all the philanthropic fundraising to do so.

 

#4 They are the second-highest brother scoring duo in the NHL of ALL TIME

** Based on the fact that the Canucks has one of the Hughes Brothers, Quinn, and his brother Jack (Devils) now in the league both drafted in the first round, perhaps they will be the next duo to chase the Sedins record?

#5 – For all those naysayers that thought they were too soft;

Hank held the ironman streak for consecutive games 679 games! Over 10 Years including several playoff deep playoff runs including 2011 Stanley Cup run.

It ended only because of a vicious cross-check in the back of the ribs although he tried to play in two subsequent games and assistant coach Mike Sullivan shared when could not suit up the following game ending his ironman streak;

“The fact he’s been able to play that many games consecutively is just a testament to his determination and how tough he is,” Sullivan said. “Him and [twin brother] Daniel both play in the hard areas of the rink on a consistent basis because they have the puck so much.”

Danny also was durable as Hank but his longest time out of the lineup was recovering from concussion when he was knocked out (literally) by a vicious hit by Duncan Keith

I have called this type of hit the infamous chicken wing, where players raise their elbows up to a players head and knock them out, a type of hit that has now been deemed intent to injure and players have received multi-game suspensions as a result as the NHL continues to focus on protecting the players from what could be career-ending injuries

Ironically when the Canucks played the Black hawks who Keith has been with since the beginning of his career, every time he touched the puck he was booed for that hit in 2012… deservedly so.

#6 – How they evolved as leaders for the next generation of young prospects

Bo Horvat was named the team captain after one season of having alternate captains only in part to respect Hanks legacy as long time captain who took over the reins from fellow swede from same home town Markus Naslund who jersey number also has been retired and hangs high in Rogers arena adjacent to the Sedins and other Vancouver great players, Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure and Stan Smyl.

When Bo was chosen as captain, Hank handed him his jersey in a public ceremony pre-game but this was after the players had been told by Hank who the next captain was going to be in the team dressing room a few days prior to the game.

# 7 – How good they are as people

In addition to their foundation, all of the community work they did and still continue to do including supporting Canuck Place Hospice I must confess I teared up as I sadly had to move my mother from hospital to hospice as she was losing her fight to cancer.  It’s one thing for a son or daughter to lose their parent, its another thing altogether for a parent to lose their son or daughter to Cancer.

As I shared several years back, in 2013 I lost both my best friend AND my mother.

When I was at my best friend’s house for days after he passed and helped the family plan his service, all we kept saying is NO parent should bury their child.

I remember how much his parents cried that week and probably still do although they are too proud to admit it.

The work that Hank and Danny as well as all other members of the Canucks organization to support Canuck Place to help families was (and still) is amazing

 

# 8 – They were top in fitness testing on the team their entire career (although Kevin Bieksa’s roast claimed Hank would come to training camp every year overweight)

As a result of their work ethic, in all the fitness tests the team did every year, both Hank and Danny were #1 and 2 (with a competitive fire to be #1) which set the bar for all of their teammates to follow.

 

#9 – They were grateful

After their jerseys were retired, they took out a full-page ad in the Vancouver Sun and Province to thank the fans for their support over their 18-year career in Vancouver

 

In all the years that I have followed various professional sports in the Vancouver area, I think the only other professional athlete that took out a full-page ad was one of their teammates, Roberto Luongo after he was traded back to the Florida Panthers after 10 amazing seasons for the Canucks.

I only hope that the Canucks organization show the same class they showed this season in tributes to the Sedins (retiring their jerseys) and Alex Burrows (Ring of Honour) and do the same for Roberto, the way they handled the goalie controversy with emerging Corey Sneider to become the starting goaltender over Roberto only to trade him for Bo Horvat left everyone’s head spinning, including Roberto who was then back to the starter and eventually traded to Florida to make room for current starter Jacob Markstrom to take the reins.

Roberto deserved better, like the Sedins, was one of Vancouver’s top players for a decade and also a great person.

#10 – The fact they continue to call Vancouver their home

Although some professional athletes return back to their birth cities, countries, they continue to reside in Vancouver and are raising their kids and still supporting current players, coaches, and other Canucks Organization members when asked.

I will never forget watching them play live or on TV over the years and just shaking my head in awe of their raw skill and their compete level.

Their short 3-5 foot passes while cycling, behind the back passes, innovators of the slap pass now common in the league or what wowed me the most were the full cross-ice saucer passes on their forehand as well as backhand literally dropping on their brother’s sticks was amazing to see.

Off-Ice, aside from all the great community work they did, I thought this (and still is) one of the funnier things they did, when they appeared in an NHL commercial to help promote the league after the lock-out season to regain their fan base.

Over and over again this past week former teammates, coaches, general managers, and sports journalists shared the top character traits of the Sedins were (and still are):

Goodness – Decency – Selfishness – Humility – Work Ethic – Leadership 

As coaches, please ensure that you focus on reinforcing these character traits with all of your players in lieu of just focusing on the outcome of a game as has become commonplace today with the focus of winning at all costs.

Our calling as coaches is not to make a living.

Our calling is to make a difference by developing youth into adults.

Kudos to the Sedins for their amazing career, becoming not only great players, but great adults before our eyes for 18 amazing seasons.

Kudos also to their original grassroots coaches that helped develop them into the adults they became to set the bar for so many kids as role models.

 

PS Tagline - Dont be a kids last coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Future – 2020

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Parents, Uncategorized

 

About a year and half ago I shared the growth of eSports in This is the Future and this week saw an article in the financial post where the owners of the Canucks Sports and Entertainment, The Aquilini’s, have invested in numerous eSports leagues and teams starting back in August 2018 to build the biggest e-Sports gaming network in North America less that 2 years later.

In 2018 the industry projections of e-Sports were projected to exceed $1 Billion, and now is over $1.5 Billion, a further 50% growth in just over a year with no signs of slowing down, similar to the 400% growth rate of the youth sports sector since 2010 in Canada.

Here are the numbers shared in recent article in the Financial Post;

  • Dota2 Event hosted in Rogers Arena August 2018 had $25 Million in prize money, $11 Million going to the winning team
  • eSports events hosted across the world in the very same arenas that professional sports teams play in (NHL, NBA) are selling out faster than the top musical acts are
  • Ticket prices average $40 for fans of the eSports “athletes” to attend the live events, generating over $600,000 in ticket revenue alone per event
  • According to MarketingHub, a market research firm, 800K people had heard of the growing niche industry in 2015, by 2019 the awareness had grown to 1.57B
  • Revenue has been increasing by more than 30% per annum, in 2016 was $493 M USD, $906 M in 2018 and is projected to exceed $1.6 B USD in 2021
  • eSports is inclusive, regardless of your sex, orientation, nationality etc. if you can play you can play online against any gamers across the globe

What the Aquilinis realized in 2018 like many others in the top 5 professional sports space is eSports is no longer a niche phenomenon but it is growing exponentially and as a means to further grow revenue streams and tap into a new and evolving fan base is to invest in the eSports industry.

Other prominent owners in professional sports have done the same

Jerry Jones – the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, one of the top professional sports franchises in the world, has purchased an esports team, including the purchase of a house in the Dallas area for them to live, eat and to hone their craft who is coached by one of my colleagues, James Leath, founder of Unleash the Athlete.  For insight listen to the podcast of the week HERE when I talked to him.

Prominent athletes and celebs are also investing millions into esports

 

  • Michael Jordan, arguably one of, if not, the Greatest Basketball Player of all time, invested $26 Million in eSports organization Team Liquid

 

  • Canadian Rapper Drake who was shown supporting the Toronto Raptors as they made their amazing run to the NBA championship last year has invested in esports organization 100 thieves with teams that compete in games like Call of Duty and Team of Legends

 

  • Steph Curry and teammate Andre Iquodala invested $37 Million in eSports organization TSM whose teams compete in games League of Legends and Fortnite

 

  • Hall of Fame Quarterback and now NFL commentator Steve Young also tagged into the investment made by Steph and Andre and part of the funding will be to build a 15-20,000 square foot eSports facility in Los Angeles

 

  • Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs along with a group of investors provided just over $30 Million in funding to PlayVS eSports League Based in Los Angeles that allows high school students to represents their schools in eSports competitions and can qualify for the growing number of collegiate scholarships for competitive gamers.

 

  • Former Golden State Warriors Team Mate Kevin Durant invested $38 Million in Vision ESports and esports investment fund and management company

 

Professional Sports Leagues have also jumped onto the bandwagon starting in 2017

 

 

Since this interview in 2017;

 

  • NBA formed a joint venture with Take 2 Interactive to form NBA2K League whose inaugural seasons was in 2018 with 21 teams who are owned by NBA Teams and has partnered with the likes of Champion, AT&T, Snickers as key sponsors

 

  • NHL franchises are also forming leagues, starting with Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) the parent company of the Washington Capitals working closely with EA Sports.

 

  • Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs) also is hosting one on one as well as eSports tournaments based on the same EA Sports iconic video game and several other NHL teams are tipping their toe in the water investing in various eSports tournaments, leagues and teams.

 

  • Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and even the largest professional sports in the world, the NFL with over $13 Billion in annual revenues, is jumping on the esports bandwagon starting with the Minnesota owners investing in Activision Blizzard.

 

It also has gotten the attention of what used to be a focus on amateur sports, the International Olympic Committee, who has shifted their mindset over the years to permit professional athletes from the MLB, FIFA, MLS, NBA, NHL to participate in winter and summer games.

They also entered into discussions with INTEL last summer to continue on the momentum of pre-Olympic showcase event before the Pyeongchang Winter Games for eSports to be an Olympic event in Paris Summer 2024 Olympics.

If you have been coaching youth sports, a former youth or even professional athlete you’re probably shaking your head why the Olympics would even consider why playing video games could even be considered as sport? Some would argue Poker, bowling, darts are games also but do get considerable coverage on ESPN and other sports networks when major sports like NFL,  NHL, NBA, MLB seasons are over.

Here is some insight in terms of the neuroscience what is needed to be a gamer at a high level;

 

 

That the video game industry, thanks to PlayStation and Microsoft 360 as well as PC games is now over a $138 Billion USD industry worldwide, has now gotten the attention of celebrities, professional athletes, teams and the Top 5 Professional sports to create a spin-off industry to generate even further revenues via competitive events for one vs. one and team play.

Youth Sports has also grown exponentially in Canada and the US in terms of revenues since 2010 as more and more families go all in supporting their kids chasing the dream of full-ride scholarships or playing professionally, based on the growth of eSports suspect will see that spin-off as well.

Sadly, as more and more specialize earlier and earlier, more and more are quitting because what started out as a fun activity became work as many games are sharing when they retire from competitive game play.

Like overuse injuries in young youth sports athletes as a result of the early specialization phenomenon, a recent science daily article share insight how esport athletes who participated in a study are also at risk for various physical, psychological disorders;

  • 56% reported eye fatigue
  • 42% report neck and back pain
  • 36% wrist pain
  • 32% hand pain
  • Yet only 2% sought medical treatment
  • 40% get no physical activity per day, and average video game playing time is 10-12 hours/day

 

Although video games have evolved into the competitive eSports industry, youth sports are showing similar trends in terms of physical and physiological health issues including

  • 400% increase in ACL tears
  • Over 60% of current Tommy John Surgeries on 15-18 year old arms
  • Over 200% increase in concussions
  • Increase in mental health issues due to pressure to perform, meet parental expectations for return in investment

Both Multi-Billion Industries are suffering from CHRONIC overuse injuries being sustained by KIDS?

Maybe it’s just me, but Houston, we have a problem … a very big problem as these trends will merely lead to a major impact on the medical system in future that is already pushing its limits due to funding challenges to hire nurses, doctors and other support staff.

More than ever, we have to work together to bring the game back to the kids so kids can play for the sake of playing again, not chasing the almighty dollar at a lifestyle pace that is not sustainable long term.

 

The Costs of Going ALL IN

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Organization Executive, Parents

The Costs of Going ALL IN

 

This week we came across an article and W5 Episode that aired last spring highlighting two families where they have gone all in to support their kids in chasing their dreams of playing NCAA on full-ride scholarships, national teams or professionally.

In the first of three-part series, they focused mainly on young hockey players and ended with an interview with the chief executive officer of a marketing research company based in the US that focused on the costs of youth sport participation not only in the US but internationally.

Their findings had my head spinning and although I have always encouraged players to chase their dream whatever they aspire to (regardless if it is sport, music, drama, academics) but what this 3 part series showed is a reflection how so many families are chasing the dream it has lead to youth sports exploding into multi-billion dollar industries primarily in Canada and the USA with no signs that it will slow down anytime soon.

A couple of years back Time Magazine’s front page highlighted that the US Youth Sports industry had then exceeded $15 Billion USD (approx. $20B CDN based on current foreign exchange).  The highlight of the article was a young baseball phenom appropriate nicknamed Joey Baseball

The article and spin-off videos highlighted how Joey Erace, then 10 years old, and his family were chasing the dream for him to play MLB.  He was playing on multiple travel teams, getting private one on one instruction for pitching ($100/hr), one on one fielding sessions ($100.00/Hr), had his own home batting cage, was getting sponsorship offers, over 24K followers on Instagram and even being asked for autographs from fellow aspiring young kids who were following him.

His life had evolved to baseball, baseball, baseball.

All this at 10 Yrs. Old?

Fast forward to 2019 and the US Youth Sports Industry had grown to over $17 Billion as a result of more and more players and their parents continuing to chase the dream to reach those lofty goals of representing their countries on national teams, getting NCAA scholarships, what is now multi-million salaries in various professional sports and possibly the Olympics.

Coming back to the W5 episodes shared last Spring, the marketing research firm WinterGreen whose chief executive Susan Eustis was interviewed at the tail end of episode one shared that the Canadian Youth Sports Industry in 2010 was $1.2 Billion, had grown to 5.2 Billion mid-way point of the 2000’s but in 2017 had climbed to $7.6B and last reported number for 2018 was a staggering ….

 

$8.7 BILLION DOLLARS!!! 

THAT’S OVER A 400% INCREASE SINCE 2010

 

Based on the current exchange this is approx. $6.5 B USD.

Compare that to the USA with 9X the population of Canada (327 M vs. 37M) whose last reported number is $17 Billion USD

As a result, Canada’s youth sport participation costs are the HIGHEST cost per capita than any other country in the world.

Highlighted in the episodes were two youth sports players and their families who were all in as either a hockey or soccer family;

Ethan Mcfarland – 14 years old at the time the episodes aired who aspires to get a full-ride Michigan State Scholarship to play NCAA Div 1 hockey and be drafted and play in the NHL.

No different than many kids have growing up in prior generations, playing shinny with their buds on frozen lakes, outdoor ice rinks, stick and puck for hours on end BUT the sad reality is 0.3% of those will reach that level as I have shared out in talks across Canada.

 

The cost for him to reach that goal is he has abandoned what all the powers that be and sports medicine research has shown is multi-sport participation so he becomes the best athlete he can be.

He also has a modified school course load geared specifically for “elite” athletes as a hybrid to homeschooling so he can make it to all of his shooting, skating, puck control sessions both on and off-ice in addition to sessions with Psychologists, nutritionists, custom skate, stick equipment manufacturers

All the while his parents seem to be nonchalant about the fact to support doing all of this is costing them tens of thousands of dollars a year much like thousands of other kids across Canada that are doing the same to chase the dream.

Probably one of the best data sets that I can provide to hockey parents to reinforce the importance for their kids to avoid this excessive time and financial commitment to focus on hockey, hockey, hockey is the NHL players association was surveyed last year and as Ken Martel (technical director for USA Hockey) shared with me and has now shared with other sports orgs, below is a slide from presentation he did for New Zealand Hockey (yes they play hockey in New Zealand)

 

 

Another statistic – Since 2010, there has been a 63% decrease in full-ride scholarships offered to Canadian born players to play in the NCAA which is a direct correlation with the ADM model in the USA, more and more US-born players are being recruited for those scholarships vs. past years seeking Canadian born players.

The other family highlighted was the Nicolazzo family whose three children, Xavier (7 at the time), sister Kiarra (10), and older brother Romero (13).  Their Dad Frank coaches both boys teams.

Year-Round Soccer, Soccer, Soccer, every day all year long including indoor session when Canada’s winter kicks in including playing on numerous travel teams costing tens of thousands of dollars every year.

REALITY CHECK – a colleague of mine shared me the soccer statistics which I reciprocated with hockey a few years back regarding NCAA/Professional path of US Soccer Players

 

 

As admirable as it is for all three of their children to chase the dream, like Hockey, the reality that they will reach that level is a longshot at best and depends on so many factors for all the stars to align.

The sad reality for both families and their kids who are rolling the dice and going all-in with one sport year-round as early as 7 years old is there is a very strong possibility that one or all of the issues below may happen;

  1. Kids are suffering pressure as early as 9-10 years old W5 highlighted in their episode.

Shouldn’t 9 -10-year-olds be playing a game for the sake of it, not feeling the pressure to reach a lofty goal 10 years or more down the road?

 

  1. All the research and data shows that these young players may quit (62% in the US are quitting by age 11, 70% by age 13 with similar trends in Canada and many other nations) due to pressure, burnout, not having fun as a result of focusing on winning at all costs chasing the dream because they are not having fun

 

  1. They may suffer a season-ending, worse yet a potentially career-ending injury like multiple concussions, tears of ulnar, medial, anterior cruciate ligaments

 

  1. May suffer depression, anxiety IF they make it to the NCAA, pro-level as they were deprived of a normal childhood which has been identified by many NCAA athletic directors is a major issue of new players coming into their programs now vs. a decade ago

 

  1. Worse case –  may consider, or actually do commit suicide as there has been a 56% increase in the suicide rate the last 10 years from 10-24 years of age. If you don’t think this is a reality, I personally know of 3 kids who committed suicide, the third happened to be the brother of one and cousin of two other players I coached so really hit me hard.  This stat was shared by Corey Hirsch, advocate for mental health and the Hockey Talks program the day that Tyler Motte shared he is dealing with depression and anxiety issues with amazing support by the Vancouver Canucks.  Why?  Because 7 years ago Rick Rypien committed suicide as a result of similar mental health issues stemming from the pressure to perform.

All of the above aside, many of the single-sport players I have interacted with as they got to older levels (15+) stopped smiling, stopped laughing, appeared methodical, robotic when they came to training sessions, games, other activities.

Why?

Because they lost that original love for the game they had which many parents argue with me is the reason when they support their kids to play year long, pay for all kinds of development the grind of playing one sport all year long starting as early as many kids do today became a job.

When they originally started down the path did they ask if they could WORK hockey, soccer etc?

No – they asked if they could PLAY hockey, soccer etc.

Last but not least, in the event that you have not been following business news of late, many countries are looming towards another recessionary period so the tens of thousands of dollars that parents are spending each year, much of which via credit facilities including second mortgages, credit cards, lines of credit will put the entire family in harm’s way if one of the dual incomes is lost to downsizing.

Is it really worth taking that risk going all in with one sport?

In lieu of looking at youth sports as a return on investment, we should be looking at all the other benefits it provides, developing character, valuable life lessons, healthy (both physical and mental) lifestyles, friendships, social skills being part of teams, being well rounded and becoming the best ATHLETE they can be.

If at the end of the day they are one of the select few to reach the level of NCAA, National or professional level then that is just icing on the cake.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids ….. where it belongs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Win (Another) One for Big Red

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Organization Executive

 

Below is the blog that I wrote literally a year from today as Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs were heading to their first ever Super Bowl Victory.  A year later, they are returning to the big game and wanted to highlight Andy’s amazing coaching journey and legacy he has left behind with other head and asssistant coaches to date.  He also also one of the most liked coaches not only by his players, but literally everyone in the NFL and on Feb. 6th will be going up against the GOAT, Tom Brady, who will be appearing in his 10th Superbowl game, this time as a player for Tampa but set yet another record as will be the first time the home team will be playing in their home stadium in the Superbowl.

Enjoy the read.

GO CHIEFS !!!

Having been a Notre Dame Football Fan since I was a kid, and Rudy being one my favorite sports movies, the quote “Win one for the gipper” quote has been one that I have spun off in one way or another for many years by coaches (yours truly included).

The quote’s origin goes back to the 1920’s when former Notre Dame player who became coach Knute Rockne asked his team in a pregame talk to go and win the game for the teams best player, George Gipp, who fell ill and with little time left asked Knute ….

Rock .. sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got and just win one for the Gipper.

Ronald Reagan played the part of Gipp in the 1940 film Knute Rockne: All American and was given the nickname as a result, he even used the quote when he was running (and won) for US President.

The quote has been used in pregame coaches in way or another by coaches still to this day as a pregame motivation speech for teams and yet another spin-off now from players of the Kansas City Chiefs who have already won the Lamar Hunt Trophy they had aspired to win on home field last year (lost to the Patriots) to win one for Big Red, the nickname for their head coach Andy Reid.

Ironically, I had the same nickname when playing many sports growing up, was given to me initially by my first football coach and the players gave to me as played for various hockey, other football, rugby teams in particular so I found it was ironic but totally appropriate that the Chiefs have given their head coach the same nickname.

I too am pulling for Andy to remove the monkey off his back, he has now been a head coach in the NFL for 20 seasons after started out as an assistant in college then working under Mike Holmgren in Green Bay as an assistant coach in various roles where I first became a fan of his.

Now after those 20 seasons being a head coach on two different teams, his coaching tree and legacy in itself is an amazing accomplishment aside from numerous winnings seasons, NFC or AFC Championships or making it to the Superbowl his first time 15 seasons back.

Aside from all the other characteristics why he is a great coach including his sense of humour, connection with players, mentoring, development of young players (numerous quarterbacks have thrived under him who struggled on other teams like Alex Smith) his coaching tree now looks like other great coaches including his former mentor Mike Holmgren, Bill Walsh and others.

The video below is a roundtable that he did with 6 former assistant coaches who at the time were head coaches in the NHL

 

The 6 Coaches include;

 

 

 

John Harbaugh – Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens

2019 rookie QB Lamar Jackson was getting MVP consideration in his first year leading Baltimore to

John also lead the Ravens to their second Super Bowl Win in 2013.

ORCHARD PARK, NY – SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills reacts to a call during the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals at New Era Field on September 22, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo beats Cincinnati 21 to 17. (Photo by Timothy Ludwig/Getty Images)

 

Sean McDermott – Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills:

Sean was hired as head coach of the Bills in January 2017

2017 – 1st Season – 9 – 7 – Lost to Jacksonville in the AFC Wild Card Game

2018 – 2nd Season – 6-10 – Did not make the playoffs

2019 – 3rd Season – 10 – 6 – Lost to Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Game

Although he did not lead the Bills to playoffs in his second season before he became the head coach they had missed the playoffs for 15 consecutive years and under his leadership has made the playoffs two of the first three years as a coach.

Many NHL insiders have shared that the Bills are back under his watch and will be a playoff contender for the next few years as a result

 

 

Todd Bowles – Head Coach of the New York Jets (2015-2018 seasons)

Todd replaced Rex Ryan as head coach of the Jets in January 2015 and is the only one of 6 aforementioned coaches not to lead his team to the Playoffs BUT came close in his first and last seasons he coached over 4 seasons but as a result contract was not renewed.

As the old cliche goes, close but no cigar.

Matt Nagy – Head Coach of the Chicago Bears:

In Matts first season as the head coach of Chicago last season (2018) he lead DA Bears back to the playoffs with a 12-4 record and was voted coach of the year as a result.

Prior to him becoming head coach the Bears has missed the playoffs for 7 seasons.

 

 

Doug Pederson – Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles

Doug was first a player for Andy, then became an assistant coach ironically under Andy when he was the head coach of the very same team before he was fired and soon after became head coach of Kansas City.

Doug lead Philadelphia to their first-ever Superbowl victory in 2018 in the Cinderella season that saw Carson Wentz have an amazing rookie season to lead the team to the playoffs, only to tear his MCL ligament and then backup Nick Boles took over and lead them to the Superbowl victory and was voted the games MVP.

Ironically similar injury woes happened in 2019 when Carson Doug and Carson lead the Eagles to the playoffs but he suffered a back injury forcing him to miss playoff games so again Nick Boles had to stepup as the “backup” quarterback to take over the reigns as he had in 2018 but were unable to have the same magical run and lost in the division game vs. the Saints.

 

Ron Rivera– Now head coach of Washington Redskins (formerly Carolina Panthers until Dec 2019)

Ron was named linebackers coach by Andy Reid the year he became head coach of the Eagles in 1999 and they went to the NFC Championship 3 consecutive years (losing all three) and then he became defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2004, on to San Diego for same role in 2007 and in 2001 became the head coach of Carolina and had their best season in 2015 with quarterback Cam Newton going 15-1 and was voted coach of the year.

All but Ron  (he was fired at the end of regular season in 2019) still hold their head coaching roles but as the revolving carousel has shown in all professional sports, as Andy Reid found out with all the success he had as a coach, coaches get fired and rehired all the time.

If you watched the roundtable video above, or have followed any recent press, not only do his his current players LOVE Andy Reid as their coach, here is a tweet from Donovan McNabb who was the Eagles Quarterback during the great run the Eagles had earlier in Andy’s career making it to 4 NFC championship games and winning one to advance to the Superbowl in 2005.

 

Donovan and many his other players and various coaches he has mentored I suspect are all pulling for him to lift the Lombardi trophy on Feb. 2nd, 2019.

All of his current players including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and others have all committed to GO WIN ONE FOR BIG RED.

As I have shared with many grassroots coaches, Andy is just one of many great coaches that parked his ego at the door years ago and the perfect testimonial why he is such a great coach is his infamous post-game call out he normally does in the dressing room but did the AFC Championship Post Game celebration

 

HOW Bout those CHIEEEFFFSSS !

For Andy, it’s not about personal success, its all about the team, his assistant coaches, support staff, the players, the fans which is the main reason why he is such a great coach.

As he shared at the end of the interview, it’s not done.

Only time will tell if Andy will raise the Lombardi Trophy he has come so close to doing over his coaching career, but one thing I do know, his players will leave everything they have on the field so they can WIN ONE FOR BIG RED.

PS Tagline - Dont be a kids last coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Costs of Winning …. at All Costs

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Organization Executive, Parents

 

One of the biggest challenges that we face in youth sports is the emphasis on winning but it is no wonder when youth sports coaches and players see the example being set by professional sports.

Sadly though, when youth sports focus on winning vs. the process of development it has lead to the high attrition rates that we are seeing today with kids quitting a game they once loved and played for the Love of the Game.

The same holds true in professional sports where the infamous asterisk has been used to identify records or titles that were clouded with scandals of cheating to get the competitive advantage to win at all costs.

The most recent example is the MLB investigation that was announced just a few hours before the NCAA National Championship game that the Houston Astros had cheated stealing signs to give them a competitive advantage which lead to them winning the World Series.

It was not the fact that they stole the signs for pitchers, it was the fact that they incorporated such an elaborate scheme to do so using technology that has been forbidden since the beginning of time in professional sports.

This is not the first, not do I suspect it will be the last instance where cheating was incorporated by individual athletes, teams or organizations to win.

These are the top 10 scandals of cheating in professional sports starting with the most recent.

#1 – Varsity Blues 2019

Over $25 Million in bribes to various NCAA Div 1 schools from parents to officials including coaches paid by William Rick Singer to inflate SAT scores or ensure their sons or daughters would receive a spot on an NCAA collegiate sports team in 11 different universities.

The bribes accepted by coaches ranged from $100,000 (Michael Carter, U of T Tennis Coach), $400K (Rudy Meredith – Yale Head Soccer Coach), $1.3 M USC’s Senior AD.

The investigation also includes Lori Loughlin (Full House Sitcom) and Felicity Huffman who had issued bribes and plead guilty and were sentenced to jail time.

This was definitely a hit to the integrity of the Ivy League School’s academic and athletic programs.

 

 

 #2 – 2017-18 NCAA DIV I Men’s Basketball corruption scandal

On Sept 27, 2017 the FBI and USA attorney announced the arrest of 10 individuals on various charges of corruption, money laundering, fraud and bribery that also involved Adidas.

A few months later that the FBI had hundreds of pages of documents that named over a dozen schools, including NCAA National Champion North Carolina, and 25 athletes that were involved in the scandal.

Many of those accused in the scandal were arrested and are waiting for their time in court to prove their innocence (or NOT).

 

Astros at Orioles 7/23/17

 

#3 – The Most Recent to come to light after 2-year investigation; The Houston Astros Stealing Signs 2017 World Series Winning Season

Incorporating technology so they could steal signs made by the catcher so batters could get a competitive advantage if they would see a fastball or an off-speed pitch.

The scheme was so elaborate that ALL players on the team knew (but none were suspended) and whenever they were up to bat and either the screen or tablet used in their dugout showed that the catcher called an offspeed pitch one of their players would hit the garbage can. It gave them such a home-field advantage in the ALCS against the Yankees they won 2-1, 2-1 at home then lost 8-1, 6-4 and 5-0 in New York, then won 7-1 and 4-0 when returned back to home.

What … no one clued into the garbage can being hit in the ALCS ONLY when Houston was at Home?  The World Series Only when they were at home when the MLB is infamous for analytics ?

What amazed me when I saw the announcement come to light was the fact that it took OVER 2 years for the MLB to complete their investigation that they Astros had in fact done so and many are arguing that the penalties being enforced by MLB commissioner are not harsh enough

$5 Million Fine – Suspensions to both the manager (AJ Hinch) and General Manager (Jeff Luhnow) as well as the loss of first and second draft picks for the 2020 and 2021 season.

The team owner, Jim Crane, issued a statement that both were fired soon after the announcement made by the MLB.

There is also a further investigation into whether Alex Cora, bench boss in 2017 who became the Boston Red Sox manager and lead them to the world series in 2018 continued to use the same cheating scheme so he too may be suspended.

 

# 4 – Deflategate 2014 – New England Patriots

 Although the Patriots will not play in the Superbowl this season as they were knocked out by Bill Belichek Protégé Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans, they have been one of the most dominating organizations in the past 2 decades, winning 6 super bowls with Tom Brady.

There first of two asterisks on what should be an amazing run and legacy where Tom asked for the game balls provided to the Colts be deflated used in the AFC championship game vs. the Colts in 2014 that the Patriots won and subsequently won to advance to the Superbowl and defeated the Seahawks

As a result of allegations Tom was suspended for 4 games to start the following season, the Patriots received a $1 Million Fine and lost two draft picks.

Was it worth it Tom?

 

# 5 – Bountygate – New Orleans Saints 2009

Although I am a HUGE fan of Drew Brees and everything he has accomplished in his amazing career, since he lead the Saints to their Superbowl victory in 2009 it was with a sour taste in my mouth.

The Reason?

That his long-term head coach, Sean Payton, was accused of paying out bonuses to players from 2009 (the year they won the Superbowl) until 2011 for players who injured players on opposing teams.

After an investigation into allegations from other teams, the NFL brought down the most severe sanctions they had in their then 87-year history, Saints Defensive Coordinator was suspended indefinitely, Sean Payton was suspended the entire 2012 season, General Manager was suspended 8 games and assistant coach 6 games.  The organization was fined $500,000 and lost their second-round draft picks in 2012 and 2013.

 

#6 – Spy Gate 2007: New England Patriots

Bill Belichek et al was disciplined by the league for using technology to videotape New York Jets Defensive Coordinators signals from an unauthorized location.  Bill received a $500,000 fine (maximum allowable at the time), the Team a $250,000 fine and they lost their first-round draft pick.

What Bill, you could not beat one of the worst franchises of all time in the NFL without breaching NFL rules WHERE you could videotape?

 

 

#7 – Marion Lois Jones – Steroid Use

Marion was a former Olympic champion track and field athlete for the USA and won three gold and two bronze medals representing the USA in the 2000 Summer Olympics who of one of the most famous athletes linked to the BALCO scandal for steroid use, that included over 20 top-level athletes.

She was stripped of all of her Olympic and subsequent IAAP World Championship medals when she owned up to the fact that she originally had used steroids, after the initially denied doing so in the BALCO investigation.

In 2007 as a result of losing sponsorships, unable to compete in track she ran into financial troubles and declared bankruptcy.  The bank foreclosed on her $2.5 Million mansion and was forced to sell other properties including one she purchased for her mother.

In 2008 she was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for check fraud and use of performance-enhancing drugs.

A decade later I had the opportunity to see her speak at a conference I was also speaking at and she shared her remorse how the pressure to win forced her to do everything possible to do so, but as a result, she lost everything and had to start over.

 

 

#8  – MLB Steroid Scandal 1990’s

Asterisks note that the home runs made by Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez among others was a result of taking performance-enhancing steroids banned by the MLB and all other professional sports. I suspect if Babe Ruth was alive today he would be spitting chewing tobacco at all of them for doing so.

Sadly, I had the opportunity to witness a home run made by Sammy at Wrigley Field before the scandal was brought forward where he hit it onto the roofs of the fans houses who watched from each home game and then a year later the Steroid Scandal came to light so it is not a highlight, more a sour note for me. 

 

 

#9 – Lance Armstrong – Cycling Doping Scandal 1999-2005

Yet another example of what all felt was such an amazing accomplishment at the time was Lance Armstrongs 7 consecutive Tour De France Titles (from 1999-2005) and what made it more amazing is he had battled and successfully fought testicular cancer before his amazing run.

What many felt was the reason he was able to accomplish what he did was his amazingly high VO2 Max of 83.8 ml/kg/min which was almost twice that of the average person which gave him a natural competitive advantage in those long rides thru the French Alps.

In 2004 the first allegations came forward that Armstong and other team riders were using performance-enhancing drugs which started a series of investigations for the next decade with countersuits filed by Armstrong arguing slander and defamation of character.

As a result of the allegations being brought forth found accurate, Lance was stripped of his 7 Tour De France Titles, lucrative sponsorship deals and also had lawsuits filed against him by former teammates, sponsors.

A perfect example if it is too good to be true, it is.

How long has corruption, cheating been a means for players or organizations to win at all costs in professional sports ?

Over 100 Years !!!

#10 – 1919 World Series  Chicago White Sox (AKA Eight Men Out)

The original scandal impacting the MLB where 8 members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the series vs. the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate.

What was ironic at the time was the Philadelphia Bulletin published a poem during that world series that was very appropriate at the time and still is:

 

Still, it really doesn’t matter,
After all, who wins the flag.
Good clean sport is what we’re after,
And we aim to make our brag
To each near or distant nation
Whereon shines the sporting sun
That of all our games gymnastic
Baseball is the cleanest one!

_ Unknown

 

What all the examples above show is the costs of winning at ALL costs can include financial ruins, loss of sponsorships or scholarships, contracts, credibility, fame, criminal prosecution and the worst thing of all …..

Loss of integrity.

Is winning at all costs really worth it?

Nope.

Take the high road always.

 

PS Tagline - Dont be a kids last coach