Goals
Coach Whitehead's view of winning on and off the ice
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"Ultimately, I'll make the final decisions, but it's important to
involve everybody. It shows the players that I respect their
opinions and the fact that they have a big stake in what's going on.
It also makes them more willing to listen."
— Tim Whitehead
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A national television audience and a FleetCenter crowd of almost 18,000 watched Tim Whitehead work when he
coached the UMaine Black Bear hockey team in the NCAA Frozen Four
tournament in Boston in early April. That's a big change from 13 years
ago. Then, only his mentor, teacher Joe Floyd, and students in his John
Bapst High School history class watched him closely as he worked as a
student teacher in Bangor, Maine.
Despite the different spotlights, Whitehead sees the jobs of teacher and
coach as being rooted in the same basic ideals.
"There are many types of teachers and coaches who can be effective, as
long as they stay true to their personality," Whitehead says. "Good
teachers and coaches create an environment of mutual respect, whether
it's in the classroom or the locker room. I think that's the basis of a
good learning situation."
Whitehead is a 1985 Hamilton College graduate. After playing
professional hockey in Europe, he taught middle school social studies at
St. Gregory the Great School in Trenton, N.J., for one year.
Whitehead then turned to college coaching, and after two seasons at
Middlebury College, joined Coach Shawn Walsh's staff at UMaine for the
1990–91 season. During that year, he earned a master's degree in
education from UMaine.
After 10 years at UMass-Lowell, five as the head coach, Whitehead
returned to UMaine and succeeded Walsh, who died shortly before the
start of the 2001-2002 season.
"That first year was very challenging," Whitehead says. "But it was
fascinating to see each player gradually come on board with what we were
doing as a group."
The Black Bears finished second in the national tournament that season,
losing in overtime to Minnesota.
"To see it come out with such great results was exciting. Our coaching
staff learned and our players learned. We found out a lot about
ourselves and about how to succeed despite adversity. Anyone who's been
involved in sports recognizes that there truly are lessons to be learned
through athletics, and that season was a great example," he says.
Teaching is about communication, and Whitehead believes that his players
need to be involved in making decisions. During the playoffs this year,
he used e-mail to ask his players for ideas to help improve the team's
struggling power play.
"Ultimately, I'll make the final decisions, but it's important to
involve everybody," he says. "It shows the players that I respect their
opinions and the fact that they have a big stake in what's going on. It
also makes them more willing to listen."
Whitehead is only the third full-time head coach in the storied history
of Black Bear hockey, which began in 1977. He recognizes that he is in
charge of Maine's most visible team, and he accepts the challenge with
the enthusiasm of a first-year teacher.
"One of the reasons I love coaching is because my students are
passionate about the subject," Whitehead says. "That creates a great
opportunity to teach about other aspects of life during the process of
teaching hockey."
by Joe Carr
May-June, 2004
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