Herb Brooks and Determination: His Path to Change the Game
A story of a determined hockey coach striving for greatness.
by Will Reedy |Business Marketing Major, Bethel University
Herb Brooks felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders. Emotions consumed him like a fiery blanket as he could feel the warmth of victory roll through his veins. But, yet he was still locked to the concrete floor of the Whiteface Lake Placid Olympic Center in the dimly lit hallway processing what had just happened. The game was over and him and his team had truly accomplished it, the unthinkable.
With the final score of four to three, Brooks and his team had beat the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1980’s Olympic men’s hockey semifinals. Herb sat listening to the crowd chanting “U.S.A., U.S.A.”. This win would later be known as “Miracle on Ice” and in that moment, he would have created a coaching legacy that is still to this day incomparable. The United States men’s Olympic hockey team had not won the gold medal in the past twenty years prior, in 1960. Herb made the 1960 Olympic team as a player, just to be cut one week before the games started. He watched his previous team win the gold medal from the TV in his living room at home in Minnesota. You can only imagine how this would ignite a passion in someone to return to the Olympic games and conquer anything that his past deprived him of. This time, it was not as a player, but as a coach.
With Herb Brooks’ special opportunities, 10,000 hours, and grit, he could accomplish the unthinkable as an underdog. Along with creating lasting opportunities for Minnesota hockey players all around the state, Brooks made his mark by creating a long-lasting legacy and success in the world of hockey by reflecting many of Gladwell’s terms and ideas.
Herb Brooks was a very talented coach and determined to go far, but he would not have gotten to that point without some of the special opportunities he encountered throughout his life and coaching career. Special opportunities are opportunities in life that help set people apart and allow that person to excel in intellectual ability, skill, or craft at an above average rate. Without these opportunities, these impactful people most likely would have fallen short of what they are perceived to be today. A prime example of this is Bill Gates. “Gate’s father was a wealthy lawyer in Seattle, and his mother was the daughter of a well-to-do banker. As a child Bill was precocious and easily bored by his studies. So, his parents took him out of public school and, at the beginning of seventh grade, sent him to lakeside, a private school that catered to Seattle’s elite families” (Outliers 50–51). These special opportunities are what allowed Gates to rise above the rest. The private school, that he could attend because of the wealth of his parents, had fundraised money to bring in cutting edge computers and start a computer club with the students. In the 1960’s, this was very uncommon and many colleges during this time did not even have computer clubs. With early access to these computers, Gates had advantage over the rest to the children his age in the world. This led him to create Microsoft, because of these special opportunities. Gates is without a doubt talented and extremely smart, but because of the skills he had developed at an early age, without access to Lakeside Private School and computers through his parent’s wealth, Gates would have had a much more difficult time creating Microsoft. Herb Brooks had a key special opportunity being that his mentor through his coaching career had been none other than legendary University of Minnesota hockey coach, John Mariucci. Mariucci had been a very successful coach over his thirteen years of coaching the Golden Gopher hockey program. During Mariucci’s coaching career at Minnesota began the long-lasting relationship between Brooks and Mariucci, as Mariucci had coached Brooks during brooks’ playing career at the University of Minnesota.
Brooks had shown his unmatched ability to coach over the past eight years for the University of Minnesota. This had been an amazing jump start for Brooks, but for him, it had only been the beginning of the path to get what really mattered to him at the time, and that was getting to the Olympics and winning the gold medal.
John Mariucci had been responsible for helping Brooks get his first coaching job with the University of Minnesota as an assistant coach for the 1970–1971 season. Then, after just one season, Brooks got an opportunity that changed his coaching career and elevated him to an elite coach in the game of hockey. At the fresh age of thirty-five, Brooks had been given the keys to the kingdom of Minnesota hockey’s crown jewel, as he had been named the head coach of the University of Minnesota. Brooks would go on to win three national championships in seven years of coaching at Minnesota. Lifting his coaching status to being one of the best in college hockey, if not all of hockey itself. His accomplishments did not go unrecognized leading to the most important special opportunities in Herb Brooks’ coaching career.
Brooks had shown his unmatched ability to coach over the past eight years for the University of Minnesota. This had been an amazing jump start for Brooks, but for him, it had only been the beginning of the path to get what really mattered to him at the time, and that was getting to the Olympics and winning the gold medal. This meant everything to Brooks ever since he was twenty-three sitting on the couch of his family’s living room in St. Paul, Minnesota with his father watching the 1960 winter Olympic men’s U.S. hockey team win their final game of the medal rounds to be crowned with the gold medal. For the first time in U.S. history, the country had taken home a gold medal. While one would think this would be a triumphant and motivational moment for both Brooks and his father, it was the opposite.
There they sat felling disheveled, breaking the painful silence Brooks father looked at him and said “Well looks like coach Riley cut the right guy didn’t he” (Goldberg). Brooks should have been there. Brooks should have been a part of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team that won the countries first ever gold medal. Brooks should have felt like a champion, but instead, he had been on the couch in his family’s living room. Brooks had been the last one sent home from the team and had even been in the team picture before the games. Coach Riley had made a late addition to the team, forcing the need for one more cut before the team left for the games.
With Brooks’ special opportunity of being mentored by the legendary coach John Mariucci and having the ability of coaching at the high level of NCAA division one hockey by the time he was thirty-five, Brooks gathered up the hours upon hours of high level coaching experience at a young age which propelled him to be considered one of the most elite coaches of his time. This would be referred to as the 10,000 hours’ rule, according to Gladwell. The rule is a milestone for mastery. It is widely believed that when an individual hit 10,000 hours of practicing of a skill or a task, he or she becomes a master of the skill or task. “A study reports that a metabolic measure of synaptic activity in the motor cortex becomes dissociated from neutral firing rates after extensive practice in a behavioral task, suggesting an increase in efficacy of synaptic input.” (Miall 1). This means that over the course of the 10,000 hours, the mind and body gets more efficient at responding to the situation at hand, making it more efficient and accurately done. In Brooks’ case, this would be coaching and in the field of coaching, there happens to be many tasks and skills to be mastered. Since he had the opportunity to start coaching at a high level at a young age, Brooks has become more efficient and accurate at handling certain situations throughout the game and encountered more styles of play and strategies of opponents. This separated him from many other coaches at that level.
This had upset many of the higher-ups in USA hockey and most of them thought that he was blowing his opportunity. Brooks had a different mindset though, he wasn’t here to make an all-star team, he was here to make the best hockey team. This required chemistry, hours of film studies, and evaluations to see which players would fit best on the roster and to see which players would work best with each other. It was like a puzzle. Brooks was looking for the best possible fit for each roster spot.
This gave him the opportunity that Brooks was ambitious for. He was named the head coach of the U.S. Olympic team. This would be a defining moment in his career as a coach and what would later set him apart from being a University of Minnesota legendary coach to a globally known name in the world of hockey. Not only did 10,000 hours play a large role in getting the job, but also played a role in the successes of the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team. Leading up to one of the most iconic moments in U.S. sports history, Brooks happened to be very unconventional when it came to selecting his team. He had left some of the best players off the thirty-man roster and made it very clear that no one was safe through the process of cutting the roster down, even threatening to cut the captain of the team.
This had upset many of the higher-ups in USA hockey and most of them thought that he was blowing his opportunity. Brooks had a different mindset though, he wasn’t here to make an all-star team, he was here to make the best hockey team. This required chemistry, hours of film studies, and evaluations to see which players would fit best on the roster and to see which players would work best with each other. It was like a puzzle. Brooks was looking for the best possible fit for each roster spot. Brooks knew to do this because of his 10,000 hours in coaching at the NCAA level and recruiting players at this playing level for eight years prior to this team. This also allowed him to have coached, and coached against, many of the players that would make up the roster.
The performance by the team during the Olympics reflected the work and 10,000 hours of Brooks as well. Going in the winter games, Brooks and the team were aware that they would have to play a very high end team, but they would also have to play arguably the greatest hockey team to ever grace the ice. The USSR hockey team was a machine, even pummeling the NHL all-star team in a series prior to the Olympic games. Brooks studied hours and hours of film looking for anything that could give the U.S. team an upper hand. One of those things being that they were arrogant and walked into every game certain that they would win. Through training and disciple, Brooks led his team to victory beating the USSR and bringing back an Olympic gold medal for the first time since the moment he watched it happen on the couch of his parents living room in 1960. With his 10,000 hours and special opportunities, he could achieve the moment he had always dreamed of, an Olympic gold medal.
“That was the period the verse the end of the chapter right there.” (Goldberg) said Brooks, with the 1980 Olympic victory. In his past, Brooks took a slightly different approach to his career, looking to create opportunity in the hockey community in NCAA and internationally. Brooks initially coached a handful of years in professional hockey, including four years with the New York Rangers. Coming to the realization that there was much more he wanted to do with the sport of hockey, he looked for a job that offered more grit and more of an opportunity to make something. Like he did with the 1980 Olympic team, he used his grit to strive for greatness and create opportunities and successful moment for himself and others. After coaching for four years in the NHL, Brooks accepted a job back in his home state of Minnesota. He became the head coach of St. Cloud State University, with the goal of moving the program from NCAA Division II to NCAA division one. Brooks wanted to make an impact on many young players in the state of Minnesota by creating four places to play that competed at the Division I level. The move was supposed to take a handful of years, but with Brooks leading the team to an extremely successful year, they were able to accelerate the process. “At that time, I remember there was talk of a five-year plan,” said Bob Motzko, a student assistant to Brooks and the coach of St. Cloud State since 2005. “Five years? No way. He did it in one. Only Herb could do that, with his connections and his power.” (Goldberg). Brooks would later on coach the French National Team in both the Olympic games and the world championships in 1997–1998 with the hopes of expanding the community of hockey. The success of the teams had been considerably well, being that in the past, French hockey teams do not compete very well on a world stage and seem to have had far more losses than they did wins. Brooks and the French went a combined three wins and four losses in seven games. Though the numbers and wins hadn’t been off the charts, Brooks had the opportunity to grow the game and expose the people of France to the game of hockey just a little more. This gave hope to expand the love and passion for the great game of hockey. Just another example of Brooks’ grit, being that he was late in his career and still looked to change the game and open more opportunities for more players across the globe. Making him one of the most iconic figures known in the game of hockey, and a magnificent ambassador to the sport.
The locker room was still in silence, as the calm before the storm had crept its way in. The silence feels far from smooth and soothing, as intensity radiated from each and every one of the twenty U.S. players. Click, click, click the sound of Brooks dress shoes against the cold concrete floor of the Lake Placid Olympic Center as he drew near and entered the locker room. With a long gaze around the room, passionately he began, “Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. If we played ’em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw ’em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it.” (O’Connor). Brooks embodied what passion for the sport of hockey looks like. Not only did he accomplish the unthinkable during his coaching career in many aspects, but he also showed what it means to play for something bigger than yourself. Brooks will forever be remembered as one of the greatest coaches to every grace the game of hockey and has inspired many young hockey players and coaches alike.
Works Cited
Miall, Chris. “10,000 Hours to Perfection.” Nature Neuroscience, vol. 16, no. 9, Sept. 2013, pp. 1168–1169. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/nn.3501. Accessed 1 Mar. 2018.
Yorio, Kara. “The True Believer.” Sporting News, vol. 227, no. 34, 25 Aug. 2003, p. 56.
Borzi, Pat. “Herb Brooks’s Miracle in Minnesota: Spreading Division I Hockey” The New York Times, Nov. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/sports/hockey/minnesota- colleges-herb-brooks- stcloud.html. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers. Back Bay Books, 2011.
Gladwell, Malcolm. David And Goliath. Little, Brown and Company, 2013
Miracle on Ice. Directed by Gavin O’Connor, Walt Disney Pictures, 2004.
Moneyball. Directed by Bennett Miller, Scott Rudin Productions, 2011.
Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team. Written by Bernard Goldberg, Home Box Office, 2001.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Will Reedy
Will Reedy, a student from Prior Lake, Minn., seeks an internship at Bauer hockey company to help him realize his dream of bettering the hockey industry and becoming a CEO of a hockey equipment company. Reedy Likes sports, history, and spending time with his brother and sister.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
- “Sarah’s Hope” showed me that no matter whats going on in life that what you want might not always be the best for you.
- Malcolm Gladwell’s writing taught me to drop my reader in a moment. In the moment be descriptive and name the dogs so the readers can understand the moment better.
- Eric Adler’s writing presented an end-where-you-began method of writing. This helped me improve my writing skills by implementing this into my own writing.
- The movie Moneyball explained the way it has always been done isn’t always the best way to do it. Don’t be scared to be different and look to do things outside of the box the separate you from the rest.
- The Ted talks “Spaghetti diversity” and “jeans paradox” at first had been very confusing, what is right a lot of options or not many options? I saw both sides of the argument. You don’t want to overwhelm the consumer but you don’t want to miss consumers preferences as well. I took away that finding the “golden zone” of having enough options and not overwhelming the consumer with to many options is hard to achieve. The goal should be to find that “Golden zone” and make as many consumers as happy as possible.
- The book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell offered the afgument that no single person can be successful just because of themselves. This taught me that events in your life and people in your life have more impact that you think.
- The book David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell gave the idea that being the underdog isn’t always a bad thing and in fact can actually put at an advantage at times. The biggest take away was play to your strengths in life. Do what makes you the best you, The game of life isn’t always black and white. You can bend the rules in favor of yourself. For example the basketball team in California. Who played a non traditional style of basketball to make up for there lack of talent and experience. This helped them win games they would have otherwise most likely would have lost.
- Never use the words Is, Are, were, Was. Well, you can if you like losing points.
- Always snap in Professor Winter’s class; clapping is frowned upon.
- 10,000 hours is my favorite of Gladwell’s terms. It represents how putting in time and effort can help grow your talents and achieve greater things.
- I glowed with embarrassment as I fumbled through my first speech. Desperately trying to stay cool and collected. I looked out and saw my classmates respectfully watching me. I realized that I should be confident in my works and not worry about judgement.
