“My recruiting key — I looked for PEOPLE first, athletes second. I wanted people with a sound value system as you cannot buy values. You’re only as good as your values. I learned early on that you do not put greatness into people…but somehow try to pull it out.” Herb Brooks
The gold medal earned by the U.S.A’s men’s ice hockey team in the winter Olympics of 1980 goes down as one of the most memorable victory’s in the nations history. Herb Brooks, the head coach of the 1980 U.S.A. men’s hockey ice hockey team, was a tremendous leader. See, learn and push are 3 terms that define Brooks collective leadership qualities. The cold war was occurring at this time and there was plenty of friction between the U.S.A and the Soviet Union. The soviets had been dominating the Olympics winning the last 4 gold medals. Herb Brooks used collective leadership and applied seeing, learning, and pushing to lead his team through the Olympics. He altered their mindset from being intimidated to fearless. Overall Herb Brooks defeat over the Soviet Union is an accomplishment I admire most over this leader; however, the battle on the ice against the soviets wasn’t the only thing Brooks had to battle…
Cold War Playing a Big Role
Tensions leading up to the XIIIth Winter Games were intensified in light of the Cold War. Any major event that involved a matchup between the Soviets and Americans were bound to be viewed as not only a confrontation between the worlds two superpowers, but as a competition between two very different political systems. What took place in the hockey arena between the Americans and Soviets was catapulted into a political arena, a test to uncover the more efficient ideological beliefs and political systems. Coach Brooks and his players did not allow themselves to be caught up in what was quickly becoming a political game. In the eyes of the media, the public, and the twenty Soviet players proudly displaying CCCP across their chests were more than competitors. They represented a country that had invaded Afghanistan, supplied nuclear weapons to Cuba, and tried to spread communism throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa
Experiences Making a Stamp on Brooks Life
Failure-To highlight Brooks accomplishments I thought it was fair to look into a failure that Brooks may have benefited from. Days before the 1960 Olympics began; coach Jack Riley replaced Brooks on the roster… Coffey points out Brooks preserving and learning from failure, “It was the greatest motivational tool he could have asked for, and it would come to embody Brook’s own modus operandi as a coach: toughness on the brink of cruelty, passionate pursuit of perfection at the expense of feelings” (Coffey 4) Brooks failure led him to learn key values in the pursuit of being a leader. Toughness and perseverance were leadership traits Brooks leaned on both only though coaching but life.
Accomplishments-
1. Made U.S. Olympic roster 1964, 1968
2. Won 3 NCAA div 1 Championships in 1974, 76’, 79’
- “Most college coaches could only dream about achieving what Brooks did in his seven years at Minnesota. He had posted one of the most impressive winning records in Division One Hockey and had, in a short time, established a reputation as one of America’s premier college hockey coaches” (Albeson 71)
3. 1980 U.S. defeating the Soviet Union
As noted the Soviets were dominating ice hokcey in the Olympics winning the last 4 gold medals. The U.S. was a huge underdog to the soviets, “However, most hockey exrts believed that Czechoslovakia and Sweden offered the biggest challenge to the Soviets.”(Pierce 34). Brooks coached his team to play the soviets by beating them at there own style. The Soviets played at an extremely fast pace, Coffey points out “The emergent Soviet style was creative and free-flowing full of drop passes and overlapping movements, an intricate offensive tapestry.” (Coffee 32) Brooks coached his team to be fast, strong defensively and offensively, most importantly a complete team. The U.S. beat the soviets 4-3 with herb brooks playing a critical role using these leadership lessons
Each failure and accomplishment constructed much of Brooks leadership and coaching tactics. Starting from his failure each event led him to the 1980 team beating the Soviets. As noted, Brooks learned from every experience and every player he went through, always trying to improve.
Leadership Lessons
Brooks Utilizes Collective Leadership
See-
He saw a team, one that if he got everyone to reach the full potential by using collective leadership they could beat the Soviets
“Hockey wasn’t played in many places then, but the places where it was played- Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New England… The Easterners tended to be edgy and emotional and tart tongued… The Minnesotans were more reserved and less cynical, more trusting and less vocal” (Coffee 8)
Herb Brooks did this well. He not only looked for a group of talented hockey players from Boston and Minnesota, he looked for a team. He saw potential. He believed if he pushed enough and inspired enough, he could have them buy into his systems and pull out their full potential. Though many players out west were rivals with eastern players Brooks saw “the team”. He combined personalities and talents believing it would get every players to reach their highsest potential.
“My recruiting key — I looked for PEOPLE first, athletes second. I wanted people with a sound value system as you cannot buy values”
To relate back to my first quote this is a perfect example of Brooks looking past just talent. He says “Your only as good as your values.” Brooks didn’t care just about their talent he wanted a strong personality, strong enough to overcome any obstacle they will face. To get an understanding of their talent Brooks used Learn as the next collective leadership trait..
Learn-
Like Coach K, Brooks got to know his players and used emotional intelligence “He [Brooks] knew all his team. He recruited many of the players . . . and had constant contact with them”(Albeson 71)
An important trait to learn is to listen. Herb Brooks got to know his players. He knew what buttons to push to and when to push them for every player. As a leader, Brooks never felt he “made it”, he felt he could always learn something from others. Although Herb Brooks was the leader of his team, he didn’t see himself above the players. He learned from them and how hard they worked. They became family to him a family that he would have to push to the brink to beat the Soviets.
Push-
“Brooks pushed his players hard, some to the brink, but he also knew this was their moment-one in a lifetime for some” (Gilbert 75)
“He got the most out of his players… and he knew what buttons to push” (Gilbert 72)
Primary source- John Buccigross interview with John Gilbert. Gilbert wrote for the minnestoa tribune so Gilbert watched and got to know Brooks since his playing days. Buccigross mainly asked questions about Brooks life and how he got to where he is today.
“Herbie’s insatiable desire was to help upgrade the status of hockey in the United States. That included making players the best they could be”(Primary Source Gilbert)
A leader that reminds me of this particular leadership trait is Ella Baker. She was the force behind the SNCC and wanted others to feel as though everyone could lead and didn’t want the influence of a powerful leader to change the young adults ideas. She was a huge player in the freedom rides and led some of the most successful protests ever. Herb Brooks pushed his players because he believed they had greatness within them very similar to how Ella Baker lead her followers during the civil rights movement. To beat the soviets Books had to push his players to the brink. The players didn’t believe they could win at first. But they came to believe because Brooks believed in them.
Criticism’s
Critics of Herb Brooks argued he was often too harsh on players and did not give constructive criticism. Gritty and hard working were big traits Brooks looked for in his players. If they were not going 100% or not playing to their full potential Brooks would challenge them. “When they did not accomplish his objectives, the Americans suffered Brooks wrath. For example, after a disappointing exhibition game, he put them back on the ice for a torturous practice session.”(Buccigross) He challenged them by demanding them to play their best hockey no matter the situation or injury. I believe this criticism is not accurate because Brooks knew his players as if they were family. He knew what he had to do to get an engine running in each of his players, “he knew what buttons to push”. Another criticism against Brooks coaching is he did not pick the best players at the time. Brooks left out some of the best players in the U.S. because he didn’t like their attitude or work ethic.
About the Author
Ian Godin is a freshman ice hockey player at Wagner College in the graduating class of 2018. He has been playing hokey since he was 5 or 6 and has grown very passionate about the sport. His favorite movie is Miracle, which is based off of the 1980 men’s ice hockey gold medal. Herb Brooks and his leadership style interested Ian and he wanted to know how he got his players to band together and beat the Soviets.
Bibliography
- Albeson, Donald. Politics on Ice: The United States, the Soviet Union, and a Hockey Game in Lake Placid. University of Toronto Press, 2010
- Buccigross, John. “In the Name of Herb Brooks …” February 3, 2009. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=3881937.
- Cofee, Wayne. The Boys Of Winter The Untold Story Of A Coach, A Dream, And The 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Crown Publishing group, 2005.
- Gilbert, John. Herb Brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey Mastermind. MVP Books, 2010
- Knapp, Fritz. The 1980 Men’s and 1998 Women’s United States Olympic Hockey Teams: Unity. Price World Publishing, 2012
- Pierce, Alan. Miracle on Ice. ABDO Publishing Company, 2010