Identity is such a crucial affair that one shouldn’t rush into it. Per the philosophy of coach Dan Morris, neither should a hockey team.
Looking for a team identity is part of the process that Morris goes through every October as his team starts to take shape and the season progresses. Finding what motivates his team as a whole and pushing the entire group is just as important as the X’s and O’s
“Everybody’s got their own personal reasons for playing, their own identity,” he said. “So when you say you’re searching for your team identity, it’s that one thing that everybody has in common that drives you, that connects everybody
together.”
Finding that identity is a process that takes different lengths of time year to year. For a team that’s been relying on freshmen to play many minutes, it can take a little longer.
“It does take awhile to build that identity, guys getting to know each other and see how each other plays,” forward Josh Fodor said. “We’ve just got to lay that
foundation.”
But there’s one ingredient that’s been a constant in the recipe of Morris’ winning teams during his time as coach: “Just don’t lose, baby.”
“It’s teaching them that losing is unacceptable and that you need to hate losing, and if you’re comfortable with losing, you’ll be a loser,” he said. “I don’t care about winning, I just hate losing — that’s the identity I want them to have.”
Losing 7-1 to a heated rival, as Ohio did to Penn State this past Friday, should be enough to make any athlete hate losing. But the coach was a little underwhelmed with his team’s response after its first two losses this season.
“I think you learn a lot when you experience losing, but I didn’t like our response after losing to Delaware (Oct. 9). I didn’t like our response Friday night after losing to Penn State,” he said. “But I did like our response after losing (5-3) Saturday.”
That loss Saturday came in a much more even game, with Ohio leading into the third period and controlling large portions of the first period. After looking at the video of Friday night’s rout, Morris said he was happy with the way his team bought into Saturday’s adjustments.
“You kind of say, ‘Look guys, I sound like a broken record, but these are the things we need to improve on,’ ” he said. “They see a result from Friday to Saturday, and even though we didn’t fulfill our goals 100 percent, they did see how you can effectively change things and be successful without winning.”
However, he also cautioned against any thoughts that a loss, especially one to Penn State, was acceptable.
“I don’t believe in blessings in disguise. I believe in buying in,” he said. “This is your way guys, 7-1. This is my way. Where do you want to be? But you’ve got to
see it: Losing isn’t a blessing, it’s part of the process.”
cd211209@ohiou.edu
