Interview with Coach Mark Johnson

We’ve all gotten used to seeing Coach Mark Johnson at games and practices over the past season and somewhere along the way understood that he was Coach Jake McCoy’s longtime assistant.

While that’s true, it doesn’t tell begin to cover even the highlights of Mark’s successful career as a player and coach. A life-long Richfield resident, employee of the City of Richfield’s Department of Forestry and father to three teenage daughters, Mark volunteers his time to coach because of his love for the game of hockey.

Q: Mark, tell us about your early career as a player?

I played youth hockey in Richfield, then went to Richfield High School. I played hockey there all four years. I was picked to play in the High School All-Star Maroon and Gold Series. That’s where the Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches pick the top 68 high school seniors to form four teams play a post-season tournament. Now it’s called the North-South-East-West All Stars. I also played for Team Minnesota, and we won the championship game against Philadelphia that was played in Illinois in 1986

Q: So it was at Richfield High School that you met Coach McCoy?

I met him in ninth grade when he put me on the varsity team. I played center on that team with Jake as the coach from 1983 through 1986. Altogether, I’ve known him for twenty or twenty-five years.

Q: Then where did you play?

I went to college at University of Wisconsin-Superior and played for the Yellow Jackets.

Q: Then what happened?

[Laughs] I came back to Richfield. I was born here, grew up here, and other than my time in Superior, I’ve been here all along.

Q: When did you start coaching?

I’ve been involved with youth hockey for a long time. On the high school level, I was Jake’s assistant for the boys’ hockey program at Richfield High School for ’94, ’95 and ’96. Then I coached the Richfield High School girls during ’97, ’98 and ’99. After that, I was the Lakeville High School assistant coach for the girls’ team from 2000 through 2004. The Lakeville team went to the state tournament in 2002 and 2004. So altogether, I played in the state tourney in ’86 and coached in three of them since then.

Q: And that’s because by last year, you were also back with Jake coaching the successful Richfield Bantam team?

That’s right. I went back to working with Jake on youth hockey during 2004, and I’ve been his assistant since then. Last year we went to the state tournament with the Bantam team.

Q: With all that experience, what do you get most out of coaching?

It’s neat how kids want to learn the game of hockey. I really enjoy teaching them new skills. You can work on something for weeks. Then they finally get it and they say, “you’re right, coach” and that’s really rewarding.

This is the first time I’ve coached this age group [Squirts.] When I listen to them, they’re often talking about NHL players. They know their names, what sticks they use—they’re really into it.

I’m happy to see how this particular group has developed. They’ve really come together even though some were from Richfield and some were from Washburn. They’ve really adapted well.

Q: What’s the next big challenge for kids of this age?

They’ve got to keep going with what they’ve learned so far. We’ve kept it basic, but that’s still what’s important for them.

Q: Next season, or even this spring, some of them will be in situations where checking is allowed for the first time. What should they know about checking?

Well, there’s going to be checking.

But they need to keep in mind that they’re playing the game of hockey, and checking will take its place. They don’t need to focus on either doing the checking or worry about getting checked. By skating hard, they’re not going to get checked to the degree they might think.

Also, they’re going to get bigger, stronger, faster. If they just keep practicing their shooting and stick handling, their skills will grow with their size. So they should get checking out of their minds. Do the basics and listen to their coaches.

Q: We’ve already seen some rougher play in some of the recent games. What did you tell the kids about that?

I told them to stay out of the pushing and shoving. Let them [the other team] try if they want. Just keep your feet moving, and you’ll be fine. And our forwards kept their feet moving.


Q: Who are you going to coach next year?

We don’t know yet, but I’ll coach with Jake.

Q: And until then, what do you do in the off season? Spring hockey? Do you run summer programs?

No, no hockey programs. I played soccer and golf for Richfield High School, too, and I still like to play golf. It’s a little tougher to get out for golf now that the girls are older. Hockey was never a problem, though. When they were young and I coached the girls’ teams, my kids would come out and skate with the girls. My two older kids go to Richfield High School now, and play on the hockey team. My younger daughter doesn’t play.

Q: So lots of golf in the summer?

Some golf. I also coach fast-pitch softball for Richfield. And I’m president of the Richfield league.

Q: Mark, thanks for your efforts with our kids this year.

You’re welcome. It’s a pleasure.

Thanks, Jake...

...for letting me shoot from behind the bench.



Good luck to the team in Monticello!

Interview with Coach Jake McCoy

Jake McCoy, this year's Richfield Squirt A coach, has long experience as a player and coach. He played for the US men's hockey team in the 1964 Olympics. And he has been coaching teams in the Washburn/Richfield area for almost 49 years, since 1960.

Jake agreed to answer a few questions about his career, the upcoming season and his perspective on the game.

Q: Jake, during the pre-season warm-up and evaluations, the players came home with some colorful stories about your career. Can you describe your experiences playing hockey in the Olympics?

It was a great experience, a life-long dream. Regardless of what people say, things were different back then. Now it's all about money. Then it was all about participation. It was great being there in Innsbruck, Austria, with all the other athletes.

Q: The US team came in fifth, after the losing the first game it played, against the USSR. The Soviet Union went on to dominate Olympic hockey until Team USA won the gold in 1980. What position did you play during the Olympics?

Defense.

Q: You also were inducted into the Richfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. How long did you coach at Richfield?

I taught physical education there for 33 years, and coached several sports. I was the assistant hockey coach and then the head coach for boys' hockey. Altogether, I was involved with Richfield hockey for 41 years.

Q: Given all that experience, what are your expectations for the season?

I don't go into the season with a goal for wins and losses or a plan to achieve specific statistics. I hope that the team gets better and that we'll be able to compete. That will be proven in January and February.

I expect that the season will be tough going. The kids on opposing teams are playing A-level hockey because it's the top level they can play. Each community is putting players on these teams for a reason. It's not intramurals. Our team is going to have to rise to the occasion mentally and physically to play at the speed and pace of Squirt A hockey.

Q: What kind of skill development do you look for in kids who are playing at the Squirt level?

I've never coached Squirt hockey. I've coached kids this age in baseball and football, but this is new.

Q: One thing that seems different this year is doing drills on the full sheet. Why is that important?

It's a real opportunity. The game is played on a full sheet of ice, and that requires speed and endurance. There are going to be a number of practices on half ice, and we have to do the best we can. And we only have an hour for practice.

When you coach baseball, you can always go to any field for drills. Same with football. Even basketball doesn't always require the gym. But ice time is in such demand that we probably won't be practicing on full ice often. That's OK. I know if I can get the players really playing for the full hour, with no breaks for teaching--of course they get water breaks and other rests--then I know they'll build up the endurance they need. Most important now is the ice time and game conditioning.

Q: What can we parents do to make sure our skaters have a good experience this year?

Parents can make hockey important. Young players have to have their priorities straight. Hockey comes after family, school and religion. But it comes right after those things.

I like players to be at practices 30 minutes early, and at games 45 minutes early. Sometimes kids get sick, and parents should call me. Sometimes there's traffic, and they should call me if they know they're going to be late. I need to plan for practices, and I really really work hard on the players being on time. We only have an hour for practice.

Q: What else would you like parents to know?

Their kids are going to get in the game. They're all going to play. But if they don't follow our systems, or do what we ask, they may sit on the bench. We'll tell them the rules, and then discipline them.

When it comes to the games themselves, there's a lot of emotion built up in that hour. At the end of the game, the players are emotional. It's not the time to read out your kid or go over what went wrong. But if they didn't play a good game, you don't need to say "good job." Ask them how they think it went. Maybe they'll tell you what could have been better. There's always another night coming up, always the next game.

There's always a next game for Jake, too. He's grandfather of a hockey player of his own. (His son played soccer, hockey and baseball for Washburn. His daughters were involved in sports as well.) In addition to coaching the Squirt team, he's helping to train the next generation of athletes in his family through his involvement in the Washburn Mite program, where his grandson is learning the game.