Minnesota Hockey Journal

February 2019

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21 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M if I'm stuck on something I can ask him for help or say, 'Hey we are doing this well, can we extend off of it?' That kind of stuff," Michele explained. George's biggest piece of coaching advice? "A lot of people look at coaching and it looks like so much fun, and it is, but my first piece of advice to her was that there is a lot of things that people don't see that you have to do behind the scenes," he said. "With high school sports there are a lot of responsibilities off the ice. Michele is the same as I am in wanting a team to be good students in school and be responsible outside of school, outside of the rink. "Enforcing that in a high school sport helps kids grow. Not only do you have to put in the effort at the rink, you have to put in outside too and do your diligence. It's not all practice and games." COACHING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION International Falls was once a true power- house on the ice. Between 1950 and 1975 the Broncos made 14 State Tournament appearances, eight finals and captured six tournament championships including three straight in 1964, 1965 and 1966. The borderland town lays claim to three U.S. Olympians (Richard Dougherty, 1956 silver medal; Mike Curran, 1972 silver medal; Tim Sheehy, 1972 silver medal) and countless high-end coaches (Dean Blais, Kevin Constantine, Bob Mason) along with minor and pro league players (Gary Sampson, Neil Sheehy). But as distinctly as the temperatures rise and fall on the state's uppermost edge, the numbers within the northern hockey program also tend to fluctuate. During the 2010-11 season there were 214 players ages 8-14 registered in International Falls Hockey. In 2017-18 there were 156. The boys numbers have managed to find consistency, garnering between 130-150 players each year. The girls however have been as high as 75 (2010-11) and as low as 12 (2017-18). "It can be hard, sure," said Michele, whose varsity team is made up of 12 junior varsity and 12 varsity players. "But this year we have a 12U team that we didn't have last year, so that's pretty excit - ing to see. We're building on that and we know it's going to be up and down, but I look at it like, this is the 25th year of girls high school hockey, and I'm 24, so girls hockey was just starting to shoot up when I was younger—when there were just a couple girls even playing. "I have confidence we'll get those num - bers back up and will get them bigger each year." George beams with pride at his daugh- ter's passion and eagerness to coach the next generation. Together the McDonalds hope to restore Bronco hockey to its early successes, celebrating the successes of one another along the way. "When she's coaching, I'm a proud dad up in the stands," said George. "I see her put everything she has into it, and when she succeeds in a game, or whatever, it's just really special. A lot of people ask us, do you have a little competition with your records, and with us it's nothing like that. I'm more than excited when she wins and I know she's excited for me." THE McDONALDS Right, The McDonalds not only live between International Falls' two arenas, they had a neighborhood backyard rink, too, where just as much time was logged. Photos / Katrina Heibel, Courtesy of McDonald family

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