Luckily, all their names showed on their squares, because I didn’t recall his name, even though he’d introduced himself earlier. That was the strength and conditioning coach was all that came to me.
“It’s been a day, Dane, so if I’ve not said it, it’s nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you. Especially since you sucked up enough courage to ask what is probably on everyone’s mind. To answer your question… not a damn thing. I refuse to be the guy who changes shit up just because he can. The program has a great foundation from what I can see, and we will use it until it no longer works for us.”
They looked around at the squares on their screens, and you could almost feel the tension leave them. But then I brought up something that I knew would bring the tension back tenfold, something I’d hated about coaching staffs as a player and refused to deal with as a coach, especially when I was the one in charge.
“Which leads me to this… while I’m not changing anything outright, but there will be some tweaks made and a non-negotiable enforced.”
The faces several of them made cracked me up. The phrase ‘oh shit’ came to mind based on the worst of the faces, some of them had clenched down hard to keep from doing exactly that. I took a deep breath, then launched into the things I wouldn’t tolerate.
“First, the non-negotiable. I will not tolerate gambling. That’s what got the team in this shitty ass mess and it is now banned. Across the board. No betting on any sport. If you’re caught, I’ll fire your ass without hesitation.”
Everyone nodded.
“Second, there are multiple teams at work here, trying to achieve the same goal. For The U to come out on top this season, or anywhere close to it, each team needs to be a cohesive unit that pushes The U forward.”
Everyone nodded, but I could tell they didn’t get my point. That thing I hated about coaching staffs, in general, ran rampant in the program at Manchester. I knew this because the one of the things Muncy had done right was implement an anonymousevaluation system for coaches, players, and staff to voice concerns about the program, staff, and each other. After digging the bits and pieces left after everything had been sanitized by human resources, even though I said I wanted them all, I found the evals.
And I read every single one of them.
What I discovered left me with a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t happy with. Taking a deep breath, I stared at each person on my screen individually before I continued.
“As you know, Muncy put an evaluation system in place. I don’t know who did or didn’t participate, since it was anonymous, but I read the submissions. All of them, every word. With that said, I maintain we have a good foundation, but…” I paused when several people squirmed in their seats.
I held my tongue for several minutes. By the time I spoke, the only people not squirming were the team doctor, nutritionist, Dane Weller, and, thankfully, Will Grigor.
“I will not, under any circumstances, condone throwing others under the bus. If you are the head of your department, the buck stops with you. Same with me. I’m the Head Coach. Everything about this program lands at my feet. You will never hear me put a loss on a member of the team or staff. I will always take the blame, and I expect the heads of the departments to do the same when shit hits the proverbial fan in your department.”
I paused, taking a long swallow from the water bottle sitting next to the laptop. Wiping my mouth, I went on to add, “If there’s an issue, address it immediately and away from the players. If it’s not handled, then I will address it myself. To everyone outside the coaches and staff, we are a cohesive unit. That includes the team. There will be no bad-mouthing of othercoaches or staff to the players or where the players can overhear. For The U to be successful, we must present a united front. That means we will win and lose as a team. If we lose, I’ll shoulder the blame from the administration and the media, but if there is an issue with a staff member that led to the bad outcome, I’ll discuss it with the department head so it can be addressed. If it’s a player, Coach Grigor and I will pull them aside to discuss the issue and see about righting the ship. If it cannot be righted, the player will be benched.”
They all looked at me, the squirmers still twitching, but not a single person opened their mouth. Sighing, I rubbed my hand over my face before shoving my hand into my hair and explained my reasoning.
“Guys, I can’t tell you the number of times as a player I heard coaches blame players for not performing well or other coaches or staff for not being on the same page. And no, I don’t just mean in the media or outside the locker room. I mean inside the team’s sanctuary. It’s a direct shot to the nuts of team morale, and I won’t have it.”
Several people unmuted themselves, but I held up my hand.
“Before any of you attempt to deny what I’ve said… don’t. From the evaluations I read, that seems to be an issue here. So, let me be frank… The minute I hear a coach or staff member berate a player for not performing well or saying the issue is a single player’s fault, or tossing blame at another member of the staff, you will be packing your shit. A version of this conversation will be given to the players as well. So they will also know the blame game is over and done with. If a player continues down that path, I will deal with them myself individually. But that shit stops now. Is that understood?”
Their eyes widened in their little boxes on my laptop screen, but they all nodded.
“Alright. I’ll send you all an email with this information laid out so there’snoconfusion. It will include a read receipt, and I expect a reply from each of you that says you have read and understood the information. And use your brains people. Do no reply all. No one needs their inbox getting clogged up.”
Everyone nodded again, and I wondered if the staff were a bunch of bobble heads instead of actual people.
Several days later, I pulled away from my cabin at the lake, Hawk in the passenger seat, my favorite music playing on the stereo, and pointed the truck toward The U. Will and I spoke multiple times over the last few days while I packed up my house. According to Will, everyone had been on their best behavior over the last couple of days. Which made me happy. I didn’t want my assistant head coach dealing with the fallout from my orders.
James Michelson’s secretary, Georgene, arranged for movers to come in, load everything up, drive it to the school, and not only unload it in the house, but also put it where instructed. She was a keeper, and I would make sure to stay on her good side. I’d already sent the woman flowers.
The trip was an easy one. Hawk and I stopped several times, stretching the trip out so it took twice as long as it should. Since my only plans for the day included meeting the moving truck, which should arrive about half an hour after Hawk and I were due to get in, and checking out the kink club I was now a member of, I took my time.
Chaos from campus bled over into town as I hit the city limits. The streets were clogged the closer I got to the house that came with the coaching position. The campus map I’d studied over the last few days showed several changes since the last time I stepped on campus. The newly remodeled hockey arena included residence halls for both the men’s and women’s hockey teams. They stood on the opposite side of the arena from where I’d be living. A little close for comfort, but I’d make do.
In addition to all the other help Georgene had provided, she sent along a floor plan for the house so I could label the boxes with the stickers she’d also sent along. The house had been built to match the other buildings on campus. On paper, it looked big, but that didn’t prepare me for the sight that greeted me when I pulled into the driveway.
“What the hell are we going to do with a house that damn big, Hawk?”
Hawk barked, and I sighed.
“C’mon, let’s check the place out.”
