In my early days of coaching my whole concern was in teaching kids how to play hockey. I wanted nothing to do with the problems of running the club, ice time, dues, rules etc. However, there were growing problems in the club. Ice time while being distributed equally to each team, there was a difference in when the times occurred. There were several large bills for purchased uniforms that were past due. There was a growing discontent in the membership.
Another coach and I decided that although we wanted little to do with running the club we needed to do something. The annual meeting for elections to the board was coming up. So Rich and I went out and gathered proxies from the membership. I had a little over 50% of the club’s votes in my pocket when the annual meeting occurred. Needless to say, I was not real popular with the present board who had their own slate up for election.
To make a long story short I controlled the meeting. I nominated my slate of candidates and won the election. I remember being impressed with one board member who was absent wife who verbally peeled the hide off me. I was impressed.
The net results of all this were ice times were fairly allotted to all the teams, the uniform bills were paid, board membership was adjusted to everyone’s satisfaction. Paying the outstanding bills basically broke the club, but incoming new members and dues put us back in the black.
I served my time and went back to what I really knew how to do, coaching.
Tom Humphris
An excellent example of how logical plans usually result in
positive reults