Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October
More hockey banquet: Coach Smith spoke to close the festivities. He spoke about the Humboldt Broncos tragedy (Father Ed Kacerguis had also asked for a moment of silence for them earlier) and then thanked individually everyone he could think of associated with the program - some of them were people I've never heard of! He also thanked the players - the 16 remaining - saying their effort, determination, and pride in the program is phenomenal. Everybody, he said, wants success. He then congratulated the seniors on a job well done, saying everything they had control of, they did well.
For the rest of this, I'm going to quote a fair amount of Coach Smith's remarks directly because there seems to be little point in trying to paraphrase something that would only lose something in the process. Here we go:
"The program is on the right path, we're doing the right things. Hard decisions have to be made and they've been made. I share with the guys - it's always program first. Coaches have been changed, players have been changed, administrators have been changed. Not only at RPI, but lots of places. When a place as special as RPI puts the program first, great things can happen. We're on that path."
"Today is about congratulating the award winners, congratulating the seniors, and saying thank you. It's also a little bit about the future and about the journey that we're on. RPI has the values that (Dr. McElroy) shared, we have our own. We have a little slogan: every day a champion. We also have our four pillars: family, integrity, commitment and discipline. That's what we're building our program on. And our journey involved many things."
"We have to remember that excellence is not a destination - it's a journey. One of the seniors mentioned grit. I want to define grit - because it's where we are, what were fighting through right now. We've had a lot of adversity ... and as a group we bond together, it makes us stronger to go through that. It takes grit. What is grit? Grit is developed through perseverance and effort after enduring failure and disappointment. It's the process of trying, failing, learning and trying again. How gritty you become depends on how strong that little voice is between your ears that either pushes you forward or holds you back. Gritty people have a certain stubbornness and determination - they will keep trying till they get it right. RPI has gone through some of those failures and disappointments. We look at the process and we're gritty, we're determined and we're going to succeed. We will keep going until we get it right. It doesn't mean we're done with adversity, but we're together to battle that. RPI hockey has grit - that voice will drive us to success."
"That voice comes from the community - pressure from Dr. Jackson, pressure from Dr. McElroy in our every-other-week meetings, pressure from fans. But it's good pressure - pressure can create diamonds. That voice between our ears is pushing us forward. That voice says RPI is special, you're entitled to a lot of great things that come with it if you treat it right and do your best. The price of success is paid in advance and we've been paying it. Early workouts, hard work that didn't result in victories. Success is coming. The price is paid in advance. We're developing leaders - 16 guys who will lead the charge next year, and three leaders who are going out the door. All will carry the flag of RPI."
"For me as a head coach I'm very proud to be able to stand up here to thank everybody, to congratulate everybody, and to encourage you that the community raises the child, the community sets the standard, and together we will celebrate. We'll celebrate these little victories, but still our true north - these guys know what it is - is an ECAC championship. That's the path, that's the journey that we're on. Even though we're not playing now, we're doing everything we can now to pay the price of success in advance. Trust these guys - they're A+ human beings. Trust our own community. Hold it together strong. I appreciate everyone for coming today, coming all year, for all the support. Thank you."
I'll reserve most of my thoughts for a later time, but I do have to say that, honestly, this isn't a whole lot different than the stuff we've been hearing for years now. Success is always coming but somehow never actually gets here. But maybe next year is the year - we'll see.
