By Martin Unger
Over 25 years ago I began a career of coaching basketball at the NCAA level. When I first started my coaching career I was caught up in the wins and losses and the moving up in the professional world of how to get the next or better job. I was so young and naïve. Coaching and being involved in sports in so much more than that. I began to learn that quickly by working for and with some of the best coaches in college basketball history. Yes they won games but it was a by-product of what they were teaching. It stated with Character who learning to be the best version of yourself that you can be. So as I started recruiting and coaching I began to look for different things outside of just athletic ability. When it came to recruiting, I began to look at how they interacted with their coaches, teammates, referees, parents etc. How did they act when they thought no one was looking? With Coaching it became more about the time spent talking about how the game could help teach them lessons that would last a lifetime. When I became a head coach, I implemented the creed of my program called RAISEIT which stood for Respect, Accountability, Integrity, Sacrifice, Excellence, Intensity, and Trust. Each week we would take one of these and discuss how it related in a game situation, practice situation, academic situation or a life situation.
Five years ago I decided basketball coaching was just too much for me as I had some health issues but also wanted to spent more time with my family and invest my coaching and mentoring into my own kids as they had gotten older. This led me to my school counseling career which has opened my eyes even more to helping all types of people. Helping guide them through the high school experience and NCAA eligibility process to get them where I had been for over twenty years.
My oldest son has been playing hockey and baseball since he was three years old. When he was fourteen he came to me and said he wanted to play in college. We had a lot of discussions of what it would take to get there and that there are no guarantees in getting there. This is where Victorious Hockey came in because we needed some help guiding him through the process. I did a lot of research about advisors and wanted to make sure we chose the right one. Michael, Stephen and Coach Bliss have been unbelievable people to work with in this process. Everything they stand for is right in line with what I stood for as a coach so it made it easy for my son and I to sign with them. Over the last few years Stephen and I have become great friends and learned a lot from each other.
This led to a conversation about how I could help Victorious Hockey with my knowledge and experience work with hockey families. I was an NCAA coach so knowing what coaches/colleges are looking for and how coaches think can be helpful for hockey families. Being a liaison with coaches when you have been one can be very beneficial to both sides. Working with high school students academically, socially and emotionally can be a great service as well helping player’s stay on the right path to greatness. Being a parent of a hockey player navigating through the process gives me the knowledge and empathy to help parents understand the process and give them the support they need as well.
With all of that being said, I cannot be more excited to be join Victorious Hockey. Working with great people such as Victorious Hockey, gives me the opportunity to use my experience in many different areas along with my passion of helping young people reach their maximum potential. The experiences I have experienced has taught me the importance of “people skills”. At each school I have been able to make a positive impact on the court with my coaching knowledge, have a strong affect mentoring young men and women, and share in the joys/sorrows of winning/losing games along with graduating students. More importantly however, I have taken great pride in creating an atmosphere of high character within these experiences. I want to work together with families to help their student athlete learn from the lessons taught during this process in order to help them become successful people in the game of life.
Stephen Heisler 