The Other Shoe Drops.

This morning, a full 24 hours after the final whistle, I am still in state of disbelief. Everything seems almost surreal.

The full impact of walking away from an organization I have bled for, still hasn't fully hit me.

Perhaps it is the fact that I have been preparing for this day in my mind since the end of February, or maybe sub-consciously even before that.

Maybe it's the fact that for most involved, this is less a goodbye than a "see you later" scenario.

There are many things I will miss over the course of the next few months. None more than the players I have coached and the families I have come to know. It is a small world that encircles our game, everybody knows almost everybody else. You will run into people you have not seen in years at the grand Canadian meeting place - the rink, somewhere, anywhere. In this arena we all become one and the same.

This will be a new chapter I will write, unexplored territory, so to speak. The biggest change will be the fact that for the first time in almost twenty years (off and on) I will NOT be the head coach, rather I will be learning a new system and way of approaching development in a support role.

And I couldn't be happier or more excited.

As I drove into the office this morning, I couldn't help but reflect on what has gone on and in some cases flown by in the last ten years or so. I have found it much easier to look at the game and my time as a coach in segments. Easier to remember faces, places, players and families.

There have been many highs and just as many lows and challenges to overcome.

I have been especially lucky and blessed to have been supported by many. They have given me reason to carry on and expand my knowledge. The courage to push past the trials knowing that whatever the outcome, they would be there.

The parents and families of the players are truly special and dear to me, they remain in my thoughts and memories. I have been very fortunate to have been involved with families that see organized sport for what it is. A chance for their kids to learn from others and become part of something bigger. They are in it for the right reasons and I am thankful for that.

This is not the yellow brick road or the land of Oz I am talking about - there have been discussions aplenty, some debate and even some arguments over direction and the best way to move forward. Every time we come back, regroup and end up on the same page.

Without these people, especially my coaching/team associates to temper my enthusiasm and eagerness to succeed, I would have been lost at times. The management of the teams who almost always found a way to give the girls what they wanted and even more important - what I thought they needed. These people have never been referred to as "assistants" rather, they are associates, my equals, my peers and partners in success and growth of these young people.

I never felt I walked alone nor that I had the complete weight of the world on my shoulders. There was always someone to bounce ideas and schemes off. To slow me down or help remove the blinders, we as coaches sometimes apply to situations.

They helped me quite often to see the big picture, the forest rather than just the trees.

I am most thankful for the relationships I have had with the young people who have been part of these teams. More often than not, they have become more than just faces in a picture, or numbers on a sweater.

We have laughed, we have cried. We have experienced success and the highest of summits. We have also lived through some trials and sometimes being so low we didn't know if we could get back up.

The underlying message through all of this was that, together we can achieve anything. For those who believed the pre-game speeches and words in the positive vein, my hope is that they can now use these experiences to motivate themselves in anything they do.

I will use the team this past season as my bench mark for the two sides of the coin. They have been my guinea pigs and sounding boards. I experimented with different philosophies and development scenarios, some were hits, some fell flat on the ice. Back to the drawing board was never veiwed as a failure only a temporary blip on the radar.

We all learned and grew together. The next phase in my own personal evolution as a coach would never have been possible if the players didn't believe in me. It could never have happened if they didn't trust me. They were as much the teachers, as they were the students.

My one hope is that I have earned their respect. If they take one small thing from our time together and apply it to their lives, it is a success. If they can move forward in something as inconsequential (in the grand scheme of someones life) as hockey, or use the lessons learned to enrich their experience in whatever they do, I would be more than happy.

Sport is about learning to depend on one another to reach a common goal. Along the way, the human element enters the equation and you see each other for what we are, human. Fallible and far from perfect. However we are made more invincible by drawing from the power of others around us. Learn to be independant and creative but know that there is support and strength in numbers.

Mere words could never even begin to tell the tale of the rewards that have been bestowed upon me.

We should strive to enrich each other's lives by what we give, unselfishly. The ineveitable by- product of giving is receiving. I consider myself a very wealthy man with the blessing of the memories I have.

I would never trade the time spent, it means more to me than almost anything.

A last thought, if you believe in yourself, others follow your example and anything can be achieved. It's what I believe with all my heart.

Thank you.