Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

Coach's Corner #15

with Springfield Falcon's Asst. Coach Phil Russell

The New Year is upon us and I am here to tell you I think it should be embraced. I quote a much smarter individual than myself, Robert Hasting. Mr. Hasting wrote a book called "The Station."

"Tucked away in our subconscious is an Idyllic vision. We're traveling by train, drinking in the passing scenes-children waving at the crossing, cattle grazing on distant hillsides, row upon row of corn and wheat, city skylines. But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. Someday we'll pull into the station, and our dreams will come true and the pieces will fit together like a jigsaw puzzle...Finally we realize there is no station, no place to arrive. The true joy of life is in the journey...the station is only the dream.So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, laugh more, cry less.Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough."

Another wise man told me that you are what you surround yourself with. Being around an American Hockey League team determined to get better I have found this to be true.Fear knocked on the door, faith answered, there was no one there.

So, the plan going forward is to enjoy the moment, to live large, to smile more and to respect those around us. Breathing controls the mind and the mind the body, so take a long cleansing breath and do some yoga.

The World Junior Tournament wrapped up in Vancouver with Canada topping Russia 5-0 and the favored Americans dropping to fourth place with a loss to Finland. 2006 is underway, let's do our best to be at our best.

To those fans who have approached me with instructions to "pour gas on the team to light them on fire," take another cleansing breath and be thankful for the moment.