Just when my body had gotten adjusted back to a normal schedule, the annual International Silver Stick Finals in Port Huron, MI came and knocked me back out of whack. Don’t get me wrong, it was an extremely fun, exciting, and productive weekend, but nevertheless it was exhausting. And at the same time, with a busy 24 hours still ahead of me, I’m not completely out of the jungle yet.
My weekend began last Thursday afternoon. I had been debating whether I should leave early in the day to try and make the Thursday evening games. Unfortunately, the Midwest was hit with a pretty substantial snow storm late Wednesday night that continued through Thursday evening. I realized that with the weather being as it was, even if I left early in the morning, I wasn’t going to make the games that night. Since Thursday was ruled out, and also since the games on Friday didn’t begin until 10:50am, I decided to drive up to Jackson, MI that day and stay with a friend from law school. Jackson’s only about 2 hours west of Port Huron, and with the late start times, driving the rest of the way in the morning wouldn’t be that bad. In hindsight, it was a very good decision – the usual four-hour drive from Chicago to Jackson took me almost seven.
My first game Thursday was being played at Ice Mountain in Burton, MI – about an hour west of Port Huron. It worked out nicely for me Thursday morning as the rink was basically on the way from Jackson to the other rinks in Port Huron. I didn’t realize at the time, though, how difficult the distance would make the remainder of my day.
That first morning game on Friday featured a player named Colin whose father I had spoken with several times at the Marlies Classic. Colin had played on teams with Sean (the player who I had spoken with about the advising process at the Marlies Classic) together in the past and both they and their dads were good friends. For simplicity’s sake, I’m giving you names for the players and parents, but in order to preserve confidentiality, I’m changing their real ones. I had gone to three of Colin’s games in Toronto the week before and I planned on making every one of his games in Michigan as well. Although I was only able to stay for the first two periods, the first contest went pretty well – Colin’s team won the game and Colin had two very impressive goals with a couple of would-be assists that some of his teammates left on the ice. I spoke with his father, Vic, during the game but I still didn’t bring up the advising process – I wanted to make sure that he got to know, and felt comfortable with, me before any of those discussions took place.
The next game on the menu was scheduled to start at 12:15pm at McMorran Place – one of the rinks an hour away. Even though I left the previous game early, I knew I’d be a little late and I had to gun it down the highway. Naturally, it started to snow which slowed me down a bit, but I was able to make it to the rink during the 1st intermission and I watched the remainder of the game with Sean’s father, Chris. Although Sean didn’t score during the game, which is actually a rarity, he played very well and his team won the game. Afterward, I waited around for a while to say “hi” after the boys got out of the locker room, but then it was right back on the road – I had to get back out west to Ice Mountain for Colin’s second game that started an hour later.
Unfortunately, when I got to the rink, the games were running 45 minutes behind. Rinks running late is business-as-usual during busy hockey tournaments, but there was a problem – I had one more game of Sean’s I needed to get to that was scheduled to start around the same time Colin’s game was supposed to end. With the same one-hour commute factored in, I was now faced with a dilemma – do I stay for Colin’s game and miss Sean’s, or do I skip Colin’s and be there for Sean’s? I felt like I had already established a solid connection with Sean and his dad Chris but I didn’t want to blow a potential opportunity with Colin and Vic either. I called the Port Huron rink to see if maybe Sean’s game would be starting late as well. Of course the rink staff let me know that the rinks were running on time there. Finally, I decided to stay for the 1st period of Colin’s game and try to make it for the 3rd period of Sean’s. In the end it worked out well as I was able to speak with Vic a little bit and still make it to Sean’s game with almost ten minutes left in the first period (apparently the rink staff was a little clueless and they were actually running about an hour behind schedule as well). Both Colin and Sean played great games and Sean had a crucial shorthanded goal. While it was a crazy afternoon, it was all worth it. As I frequently tell parents, getting to see a player succeed and enjoy playing the game is probably the most gratifying part of my job. At times it feels as if I’m watching my little brother out on the ice and I can’t help but feel happy for him.
With all this driving back and forth between rinks an hour apart, I had some friends asking me why I needed to be at both players’ games. “If you already know the player and dad, why do you have to be there?” As I know I’ve mentioned before, with every tournament I’ve gone to, I’ve gotten closer with many parents, coaches, and kids. When I see potential in a player and a possible opportunity to help him and his family out, I want to make sure I attend all that team’s games and remain very visible. Since players can’t commit to an agent in any way without losing their NCAA eligibility (see NCAA Rules and Bylaws at Rule 12.3), a player or family allowing you to advise them really doesn’t mean anything. In fact, even if you can get a player to officially sign with your company down the road, the player still always has the option to walk away at any time. All that matters is that you have the player under contract while you get him a deal with a professional club. This freedom that athletes have can be very nice for them, but can cause a lot of anxiety on the part of agents. Just because a player wants you to advise him doesn’t mean you can relax and start looking for another potential client. On the contrary, getting your foot in the door means you really have to show your dedication.
I spent the remainder of Friday night at the Glacier Point Ice Arena in Port Huron scouting random teams that were playing in the building. I didn’t feel like doing anymore driving and there were plenty of good games left to be played at the facility that night. By this point in the season I pretty much know who’s worth watching, so most of my time was spent networking with coaches and families.
After the games concluded, I drove about an hour south to meet up with fellow SAB contributor, Ryan Ballard. He was kind enough to invite me to stay at his place during the tournament and seeing as I’m trying to limit my expenses, I was happy to take him up on his offer. While my company helps me out with a lot of costs that I’d otherwise have to eat myself, as the Director of the Hockey Division, I still have a budget to watch. In my opinion, I’d rather put more money into player development and promotion than spend it on hotels and flights for myself. Ryan and I stayed up for a few hours talking about some of the players we had seen throughout the day, which was another reason I was glad I decided to stay there. Hotels can be nice, but when I’m on the road for multiple days at a time, eating alone in fast food joints (if I ever find the time), guzzling down coffee by the gallon to stay warm and alert, and basically living out of my car, sometimes I just want to relax and hang out with other human beings. They sure don’t put those kind of details in Jerry Maguire, but it’s part of the job and you have to be willing to deal with it. At the end of the day, though, in my opinion this job is worth every bit of it.
Saturday was similar to Friday – more games to watch, more people to meet. Colin’s team won their last game of pool play and would be moving onto the quarterfinals. After the game I met with Colin, Vic, and Colin’s mom to talk with them about some of the decisions they’d be making this time next year and express my willingness to help guide them through the process. Overall, I think the meeting went very well and I’m looking forward to getting to know Colin and his family better as the season progresses.
Later that afternoon, Sean’s team won as well and would also be advancing to the quarterfinal round. It ended up working out that Sean’s and Colin’s teams would be playing each other – finally, after all that driving around I had the two kids in the same rink! Unfortunately, the game was scheduled for later that night and Matt happened to be in town to play the Flint Generals just an hour-or-so away. I had already told Matt that I’d be there and I hadn’t been to one of his games since he got called up to the Gems, so I couldn’t back out now. After another long couple days of hockey, I said my “goodbyes” and hit the road for Flint.
At the Gems game Saturday night, Matt played very well. He had a couple of nice shot blocks on the PK, some good solid hits, was +1 on the night, and the Gems pulled out a 3-0 victory. At one point, I thought I was even going to witness Matt’s first goal as a pro. Mid-way through the 1st period, with the puck down deep in the General’s zone, Matt began to slide down from the blue line towards the net. The pass came out from behind the net and Matt would have had a point-blank opportunity had the puck been put on his tape and not in his skates. Oh well – it’ll come.
After the game, I went down by the locker rooms to talk to Matt for a bit and then it was back on the road. I drove back through Jackson and spent Saturday night at my buddy’s place again. On my way there, I spoke with Chris on the phone and found out that Sean’s team had won the quarterfinal match. They’d be playing again Sunday morning and the game was scheduled to be broadcast via the internet. So yesterday morning I woke up, watched some of the semifinal online, and headed back home to Chicago. I had to work at the rink at 4pm and got home just in time to grab a quick bite before I took off.
Today, I had an early meeting with a legal client, so unfortunately I did not get much sleep last night. As, this job isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. But I’ve never questioned whether this is what I want to do for the rest of my life and that’s what keeps me going day-in and day-out.
And with that…it’s time to hit the showers.