I-League Coaches, Oxymoron?

Sure, I-league is more or less a nominal thing in Euless. We have only one practice per session. Very few attend the practice. We have a play-off and championship. We've even had an all-star game. However we do still have coaches, well, most of us, or a person posing as a coach. Enough qualifiers, coaches are around.

What does it take to be an I-league coach, you say? Look to Al Zarago, (part time) Komets' head coach. A veteran of the game, he played throughout his childhood somewhere up in the great white North, I think. And at his age that means years and years and years of experience, and even more years, too. Always elevating the level of play with positive comments and insightful pointers. Drawing up elegant (meaning, simple) plays for the Komets to make the most of their... talents, ahem.

Then there's Cody Bateman, new coach for the Snipers. Mr. Bateman is a native, but has also played most of his considerably shorter life. Hockey is all this guy thinks about. He is still active in multiple adult leagues and his day job is ice maintenance for the local NHL affiliate at the American Airlines Center. No matter his resume, who would doubt the man behind the Sniper's amazing turn around. Truly an amazing hockey mind.

So what if you just can't let go, look to Nate Hodges or Bobby Sirkis, Jr. Now they may have once been I-league ringers, but despite a serious deficiency in coaching abilities, these two have managed to doop several teams into allowing them to pilot the ship. As Bobby told me, "What's to coaching? You just fill-out the roster, and look good behind the bench." Maybe this could be your path.

Then there's the Brewzer's coach... Wait, they have a coach? I mean that was an historic victory over the Monkeys last week, but I never saw a coach. Andrew Thomas? Who's that? Well, okay. Andrew Thomas, the epitome of an I-league coach!

I would have commented on Mark "Smitty" Smith, but I don't know a great deal about his experience, he must be a very astute individual as he is always complementing me after games.

I must have missed several of the active coaches in our league, but they have missed plenty of our games, right? The point is, coaches play many roles in this thing of ours and I think that what they do is very honorable. So you think you know how to do it better than your coach? Just remember that the "I" often goes for these men behind the bench also. Or maybe you should just show us all how it's done. Let's see what you can do with a bunch of old farts and a dry erase board!

bcIII

Here's the latest from Vegas:

Stickmen 5, Komets 0

Grave Diggers 2, Puckers 1

Iceholes 4, Snipers 1

Warriors 3, Spiders 1

Patriots 3, Brewzers 0

Blue Devils 3, Army of the Twelve Monkeys 2

P.S. Check this guy out if you have some time to kill, what a loser!