South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey: Coaches Corner

Head Coach: Bill McCreary Jr.
Bill McCreary Jr. begins his third season as head coach; fourth season with South Lyon Unified Varsity. He has been coaching hockey since 1988.  Bill’s enthusiasm for the game and attentiveness to the needs of the players is a critical part in the success of the team. After playing two seasons of Jr. A. Hockey with the Cleveland Barons and two seasons with Colgate University, McCreary was highly drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1979. He continued his hockey career playing for several teams in the AHL, CHL and IHL before retiring in 1988. He studied Liberal Arts at Colgate before turning to Business and Finance at the University of Wisconsin.
Now he is enjoying his success in the mortgage business as Branch Manager of Envoy Mortgage in Brighton where he lives with his wife of 30 years Marianne; his son Bill; who currently plays professional hockey, and two daughters; Danielle who works with her dad and Caitlin who is in college. 
Bill’s goal for the 2011 team is to win the State Championship. He believes strongly in the team motto, “It’s all about the pride.” He is also a big believer in attitude “Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t…You are right”. South Lyon Hockey is proud to have such an accomplished and knowledgeable person as the leader of their program.
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Assistant Coach: Bill Parent
Assistant Coach Bill Parent is in his third season behind the bench for SL Unified. After spending 7 years coaching various levels of hockey, Bill approached South Lyon volunteering his time and vast hockey knowledge. Both are welcomed as he uses this experience of hard work and sensibility while taking the team through their drills on and off the ice. Parent saw hockey action himself spending time with the Windsor Spitfires, the Essex 73’s and even winning the All-Ontario Championship with the Belle River Canadians.
Bill got his business degree from Cleary University and now is in Automotive Sales. He is married to Heidi and they have two sons, Ryan and Brandon. Coach Parent sees conditioning and improving positional play as his goals for the 2011 team. South Lyon is thankful for his time and devotion to the program.
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Assistant Coach: Mike Falahee
Coach Mike returns to the team after a 3 year absence and is welcomed with open arms. He brings
with him experience and knowledge of the South Lyon Program as well as a great love and respect of the game and the kids. He became involved with SLH when his oldest son was on the team and continued after his graduation.
 Mike is owner of Marygrove Awnings in Livonia. He is married to Sue and they have two sons. 
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Assistant Coach: Dan Thomas 
 
This is Coach Dan's first year with the team. He brings with him several years of hockey experience. He played as a forward at the collegiate level for Grand Valley State University.  He graduated just this past spring with a degree in Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  He is the brother of forward Cam Thomas.
  


10 Things I've learned as a Hockey Dad
It’s a new season, new energy, new players, but usually the same ole parents – many of whom are in different rinks this year.  Every year about 50 Hockey online and magazine publications list 10 things hockey parents should do during the season, like push sportsmanship, don’t yell at your kid in the car going home, etc.  It’s the same every year. Not that their advice isn't valuable, it's just all so "I've seen this before." So I thought it would be fun to share 10 things I’ve actually learned as a hockey Dad over the last 13 years that you wouldn’t normally find in those “lists.” So here’s a sample of what I’ve learned by doing and by observing,
  1. Don’t sit in the stands with your wife. No matter what you say, she will correct you, yell at you, move away from you or give you the “glare.” Your game comments could result in a really lousy week ahead. It’s a no win situation.  There’s also the chance you may be making an “observation” about another player and their Mom sitting behind you will hear you, making for a bad SEASON. Not that that's EVER happened to ME! Go stand at the corner of the rink and talk with the Dads. There’s no filter there.
  2. Don’t yell at the referees about not calling penalties. Have you ever seen the success rate for younger players on power plays? My son played on a team last year that gave up twice as many shorthanded goals than scored power play goals. It’s not worth the heartburn; matter of fact, don’t yell at them at all. Yes, some of the refs are really bad (especially for the younger kids), but I’ve found it all evens out eventually unless you're playing in Livonia, Port Huron or Novi (just kidding).
  3. Check your kid’s hockey bag before you leave the house. We can all tell our kids that they’re “old enough to pack their own bag” but until they learn to drive it’s YOU that has to turn around the car or frantically ask for help in replacing needed equipment that is sitting on the floor of your home or garage because IT'S NOT IN THE BAG. My kids have forgotten skates, shoulder pads, uniform shirts, elbow pads, shin guards etc. and it’s always MY obligation to deal with it. I was with one of my sons at a Squirt tournament up north a couple of years ago and the kid forgot to pack the entire bag and his parents had to buy a whole new set of equipment. So save yourself some heartburn and check the bag yourself before you leave the house.
  4. Never and I mean NEVER go to the bench during a game. I was an assistant coach a few years ago when one of my sons was a Mite and a parent came to the bench DURING a game with a list of his son’s ice times and wanted an immediate accounting of his son’s lack of playing time. I’ve actually seen this happen with parents of older kids the past two years and coincidentally – neither kid made the team the following season, which leads me to point number 5 ….
  5. Hockey is not fair.  Some kid will always get more ice time than your kid, some coach will someday under appreciate your kid’s skill level and put them on the third line instead of the first, some ref will job him or her after they’re taken down on a breakaway, some coach will think your little scorer should be a defenseman and some team you feel is deserving of your superstar will not choose them.  It happens.  Just expect it.
  6. Every team has at least one parent that sucks the life out of you. Avoid them. You know the one who is always spreading rumors about so and so leaving the team  (and it’s only October),  the parent who sits at the glass or in the stands who constantly complains about his or her kid’s ice time (see number 4), the one who spends the year telling you how great their kid is and how they should be playing at a higher level and would be better if more kids passed to him or her, the one who is constantly telling you what your kid needs to do (in addition to being more like THEIR kid) to be a better hockey player ? Identify them early and stay away from them.  Don’t let them suck you into their negative vortex. You’ll thank me later. Better yet – don’t BE one of those people.
  7. Let the Coaches Coach. Yes, sometimes you might know more than they do (don’t we all?) but they’re in that role for a reason. It might be skill level, experience, or the fact that none of you stepped up to do the same. Give them the respect they’re due and don’t circumvent what they are trying to do on the ice. If you don’t like the way they’re handling your little star – then change teams at the end of the season (and some do – EVERY YEAR).
  8. There really is no good reason to be drinking heavily at tournaments.   I’ve seen it for years and I’ve never understood it. We’re so picky about what our kids eat, drink, watch, play, etc. but for some reason, when we go on road trips for out of town tournaments, parents turn into Frat boys (and Sorority girls). I’ve seen parents wasted “between” games, end up in the “wrong room” at night with the “wrong spouse” because they were so drunk they had no concept of decorum (you don’t think the kids know this?), coaches who literally trashed rooms for fun (really), and of course there’s the parents drunk in the hotel hallway and up all night so your kids in their rooms have no chance of sleeping. All they hear is Mom and Dad doing “drunk things.” Having a beer or a glass of wine is one thing – but being drunk on road trips around your kids and their teammates sets a really lousy example and never turns out well.
  9. Never instruct someone else’s kid or question their play. When I played high school hockey in Vermont, I had a goalie parent angrily get in my face in the locker room because he felt a specific play I made on defense caused his kid to give up a goal. I’ve never forgotten it and I’ve seen it in locker rooms on several occasions since.  On another note, don’t criticize your kid’s teammates at all. How many times driving home in the car have you made a negative comment to your kid or in front of your kid about the play of a teammate?  How do you think they’ll respond? You’ve basically given them license to do the same.  It’s a bad idea and I’ve done this one personally and learned to regret it. Don’t do it.
  10. Have Fun. It’s amazing how we can ruin any sports experience by taking games and practices and seasons too seriously. If your kid comes off the ice with a smile on their face it really shouldn’t matter what the score was or how they played, you should be smiling too. If they’re not having fun, do some personal inventory and see if maybe it’s your own attitude that’s stealing THEIR joy.


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