With USA beating Canada for the gold medal at the World
Junior Championships last night, there are a lot of amazing stories being told
about the team and its players. It was
an incredible game with a storyline centering around commitment, resiliency,
and a team-first attitude that lifted the squad to their gold medal.
I have a story about USA’s star defenseman, Charlie McAvoy. And it’s one that I think all kids aspiring
to play college hockey (and their parents) need to hear:
During my time as an Assistant Coach at Cornell, I remember
watching Charlie play as a younger kid.
He skated for the New Jersey Rockets, and he instantly became noticeable
on the ice for his play. He was
competitive, could really skate, and had an unbelievable head for the game (He
had great grades too!).
We invited Charlie up to Cornell for a visit to check things
out, and it became one of the more memorable visits I had in my time as a
coach.
During the hours that Charlie and his dad were on campus, I
quickly realized that Charlie absolutely oozed character. He was a phenomenal kid, and while getting to
know his dad as well, it was easy to see where that goodness came from. We had heard from numerous others that they
were incredible people, but upon spending more time with them we understood why
so many people had such great things to say.
We talked about values and family, we talked about what
Charlie wanted out of his future, but the conversation that I will always
remember centered around Hurricane Sandy.
Prior to his visit, Charlie’s hometown on Long Island got
hit really bad by the storm. Stores and
homes were decimated, and the town was in really rough shape from what they
were saying. But Charlie and his dad
spoke passionately about the resiliency of the people there, and the ability
for everyone to come together and help each other out in the community. Charlie’s dad himself was a plumber, and
spoke about the numerous jobs he was doing for his neighbors for free. It was really incredible to hear their
stories.
And here’s the thing: Before the visit, Charlie was a
fifteen-year-old kid that we really liked as a player and wanted to keep a
close eye on. At the end of the visit, I
knew that we had to have him as a part of our program. And here’s what I think all kids and parents
need to hear:
Charlie was an immensely talented player, but there are a
lot of immensely talented players out there.
We knew that this kid was special and destined for great things because
of his character. And what gave us comfort
in recruiting this fifteen-year-old kid was the fact that his dad was such a
great individual as well. We didn’t decide
to fully commit to Charlie because of his hockey playing ability (although that
certainly had a huge part in it!). We
decided that we needed to have him by the type of person that he was, and the
type of family that he came from.
Charlie didn’t end up choosing Cornell and wound up going to
Boston University. But, I will always be
a fan of his. I am not surprised one bit
that he became a first round draft pick and a captain of this gold medal
winning team. Yes, because of his hockey
playing ability. But more importantly
because of his character and work ethic.
For all you kids out there reading this: if you work hard
and strive to be a good person, the probability of good things happening to you
will be great. Character shines, and
colleges aren’t just recruiting good hockey players…they are recruiting good
people just as importantly.
For all of the parents out there reading this: What you do
and how you act MATTERS. Just as how
Charlie Sr. gave us comfort in recruiting Charlie, myself and many of my former
colleagues at other schools have chosen not to recruit a kid because of his
parents. Your attitude and your actions
have consequences for your kids.
Encourage them to love the game and work hard, stay out of the youth
hockey drama, and for the love of God…Your kid can’t hear you yell from the
stands when he is on the ice.
Watching Charlie lead the Americans to a gold medal last
night brought a smile to my face. It’s
awesome watching good things happen to good people.