Re: Boston University 2010 Offseason I - The Year after the Year after effect
I know you're joking, but now I'm going to be serious.
maybe winning cures all. Did this years freshman go out too much, or did they just not win the games before and after they went out? Based on what I know about the Class of 2012 I'm betting on the latter. Was BC's upperclassmen better at reining in their freshmen? Apparently not. Was the same ping pong table that provided relaxation and team building in 08-09 really a distraction that needed to be vanquished in 09-10? Somehow I doubt it. Was there something that McCarthy and Strait did that made the team stronger that Bonino and Gryba were unable to do? Fewer than 3 posters here have ever been in the locker room with the team, yet a very large percentage blamed many of this past year's failures on leadership; however, since I'm not in the few that have been in the dressing room I don't know.
So this started as a quick post, became something way, way longer, then was cut down to this. Pretty much just my thoughts on leadership as it pertains to this team:
Anybody who's ever been the young, new guy in anything, but especially sports, knows that when you first come in, you're first goal is to impress. You try to do more than everyone else as a result.
But then, as time goes on, and you see what the "normal" level of commitment is from the guys who have been around, you figure out what you can get away with. And then you start pushing the boundaries a bit of what you can get away with.
This doesn't mean this year's captains were going out four nights a week and didn't care about hockey. As Parker said, they weren't breaking windows and burning TVs.
But let's say Eric Gryba -- and this is just a random example, not at all a comment on how Gryba handles himself -- is doing defensive drills, and it's near the end of practice and he's kind of gassed. A player posts up in front of the net, and he's in Gryba's zone, and instead of putting a good, hard body into him, Gryba just gives a little wave of the stick in his direction.
You can't fault Gryba. He's gassed. It's practice. Ninety-nine out of 100 players would do the same. But let's say that one of the freshman is watching Gryba on that play. The freshman sees the play, and also sees the praise Gryba gets from everybody for being such a good defender. Forget the fact that it might be the only time Gryba isn't perfect all season –– the rook will remember it.
And so, when it's late in the 3rd period, and the freshman is gassed, and there's a man posted up in front of Millan...well, you get where I'm going.
That's the thing. A captain can preach like crazy to do things the right way. He can tell people what to do on the ice. He can tell them what they can't do off it. And 99 percent of the time, he can live up to every word he says.
But when you're a leader, there might always be someone watching. And that somebody watching might catch you at the one moment where you aren't perfect, but if they do, there's a good chance they'll remember it. Then, when they do the same thing, they justify it in their mind by saying, "Well, a stud like Gryba got away with it, and I'm only a freshman. What's the big deal?"
It doesn't make this year's captains bad people if they weren't perfect in this regard. I defy any of you to tell me you aren't 100 percent focused in the office each and every day, and that you never "leave a body in front of the net," so to speak.
It really just shows you how rare a guy like Gilroy is.
Sorry for the novel
