Herb Brooks 1980 Olympic Hockey Team

“Again!” (Miracle) Over and over and over… This line was shouted repeatedly to the young hockey players of the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team. After not doing the most important thing Herb Brooks wants all players to do, work as hard as possible, the team came up short and tied an easy team. Disgusted with his team’s performance, Brooks made his team skate killers, sprints up and down the ice repeatedly, past the point of the rink manager going home, the rink being shut down, and the players throwing up. This significant moment was not just to punish his players but to test them and see who could withstand Brooks’ abuse and keep pushing forward, knowing that having the toughest players in the world would be their only chance of winning. Brooks’

famous killers, which every team he coached became familiar with, were nicknamed “Herbies” by his players and now by any true hockey player in America, as most have skated them also. In Brooks’ life, he managed to play on two Olympic Teams, turn the Minnesota Gophers losing season into winning multiple national championships, coach the famous 1980 Olympic Hockey Team, and coach or work for multiple National Hockey League (NHL) teams. While doing all this, he ignored the criticism of others and stuck to his beliefs of his new coaching methods which is now used throughout America. This information may lead the reader to ask: In what ways did Herb Brooks become one of the greatest hockey coaches of the twentieth century? To answer this, three points must be examined: his personality, his coaching style, and his legacy. Once these points are covered, it is obvious that Brooks’ willingness to rewrite the current style playing and coaching hockey made him such a successful coach and recognizable icon.
Brooks' personality made people naturally respect and look up to him while it is also the reason he dedicated his life to hockey. Brooks had a natural love for hockey. Growing up in Minnesota, winning a state championship was what every hockey player dreamed of and when Brooks finally achieved that goal he knew that is was only the start. He spent his college years playing for the Minnesota Gophers as a stand out player and after that he wanted to take his game to the next level. Brooks then tried out for the 1960 Olympic team and was the last man cut from the team, but with his determination led him to train even harder. He them tried out for two other Olympic teams and made them both (“Miracle Man”). This proves that Brooks’ life was fully consumed with hockey in one way or another due to the fact that he loved it so much.
Brooks’ dedication to hockey is what drove him spend his whole life either playing, coaching, or working in hockey some other way. After his years playing in college and the Olympics, he turned away from his steady insurance job he had been working in and start coaching the Minnesota Gophers in 1972 (Gilbert 46). He did this because he knew he had the skills and mindset to be a good coach and was determined to turn their team around into the best team in the county. Brooks never had time to get away or vacation because he was always consumed with hockey, he even later described his time coaching the 1980 Olympic team as his loneliest years (Gilbert 139). This proves that his dedication never let him have any free time because he wanted to learn as much as he could about other teams and players and also make sure his team was getting better. After his years as a coach were over, he continued to scout new players for NHL teams because he knew so well what to look for in a player besides their skill. This information shows that Brooks dedication made him well known through all the hockey community. He was determined to better the sport and all players for the better and continue to grow the sport.
Brooks became a charismatic character through his years and people had a plethora of respect for him. He was the type of guy who made someone sit up straighter when he walked in a room because they felt the need to be professional in front of him. Brooks never socialized with his players because he did not want to ruin his image of discipline (Gilbert 130). This helped Brooks make sure all his players were hard working and disciplined because they all felt the need to impress him.
Brooks' style of coaching is what led him to be so successful, through a combination of his style of play, hand-picked players, and determined work ethic he changed the way hockey is played. His new style of play was a not very accepted and many did not think it was right, but he had chosen the right players to execute it well and along with their hard work success was almost guaranteed.
To understand how Brooks changed his game one must understand the strategies of the U.S. and other hockey countries. During the time leading up to the 1980 Olympics, the Soviet Hockey was so good they even beat the NHL All-Star Team, they were considered the best hockey team in the world. They used similar systems to Europeans but were unstoppable with their intense training and extreme conditioning, they were in superior shape to any other team. The Europeans had a creative style of play that involved being free with forwards weaving, which was considered wrong by Americans. North American style of playing hockey was very disciplined, it was defense based and when they got the puck they would dump the puck in the offensive zone and all forwards stayed in their section of the ice (Gilbert 24). Brooks kept an open mind and the different styles of play which inspired him to use some of the strategies that some of the best teams use.
Brooks’ new hybrid style of play was going to be used by his 1980 Olympic team by comprising all elements of the different styles of play. Brooks knew that if his less experienced team was going to win they first needed to be able to skate three full periods with them, thus began his intense training methods beyond any NHL team and similar to the Soviets. He became the most progressive coach in North America with his new methods (Gilbert 134-139). He kept the disciplined defensive North American style, but his main focus was the creativity on offence. He made sure his players stuck to their assignment but gave permission for players to play as creative as possible on offense which threw teams off because they did not know what formation was coming at them.
The type of players that played for him was the most important thing to Brooks. Brooks loved and respected any player who gave all their effort because that was what mattered most to him, if someone did not give all their effort they would most likely get benched. He needed players who also were creative to fit his new offensive style and who would take his criticism and respond to it. When putting together his team for the Olympics, Brooks spent countless hours calling everybody in a prospects life to see if they were a good person and how hard they worked (Gilbert 139- 145). This guaranteed that everybody who tried out for the Olympic team was hard working with a good attitude so that no matter who he cut or kept they would meet his requirements. All this lead to Brooks' team to be so successful and what makes him a coaching icon today.
Brooks' determined work ethic was the biggest key to all his success.

When coaching the Gophers, Brooks benched his star player one game for discipline issues and lost the game because of it but it taught him a lesson and he had the best attitude by the end of the season (Gilbert 79). This example proves that Brooks would stop at nothing to make sure his players follow his own way of giving all possible effort. After a scrimmage against Norway with his Olympic Team, which they tied 3-3 after taking the team lightly, the team skated Herbies to the point of collapsing. Brooks told the team that if they played the same way the next morning they would skate even more; they won 8-0 (Gilbert 154). This shows once again that effort was the most important thing to Brooks because he knew much it mattered and paid

off.
When someone says the name "Herb Brooks" the first thought that pops into most people's mind is the Miracle on Ice Hockey Team. His biggest accomplishment was his 1980 Olympic team, but he had a lot of success before that coaching the Minnesota Gophers and after with his style of play being used across the country. Every player who had Brooks as a coach still carries out the hard work ethic that Brooks taught them. His legacy as a coach and as a motivator will live on forever.
Before Brooks became head coach of the Gophers they went 8-24-0, but Brooks was there to revive them. Two years after becoming head coach he led them to their first national championship and won. Between the years of 1972-79 Brooks led the Gophers to three national titles with a total record of 167-97-18, he had brought them back from the dead. This was his first big accomplishment which made him a big name throughout the hockey community and all the recent success led to him getting the coaching job of the Olympic Hockey team.
The 1980 Olympic hockey team shocked the world with the miracle of beating the unstoppable force of the Soviet Union and going on to win gold, all under head coach Herb Brooks.

The team comprised of college students from about two different schools that happen to be rivals and hate each other. The team did not bond well at first, but Brooks knew that by being no one's friend and making the team hate him more than each other they would come together and forget their rivalry (Gilbert 144). The game everybody was looking forward to was against the Soviet Union and being in the middle of the Cold War with them, beating them was more than just winning a hockey game to many Americans. That game sent them to the championship versus Finland, and if they didn’t win that game them the Soviet game meant nothing at that point. The United States finished it out and pulled out the victory over Finland, they won gold for the first time in twenty years and Herb Brooks became an American hero. Along with all success of the Olympics, Brooks proved how well his new system that

worked.
The traditional Canadian style of playing hockey throughout North America was soon not the same. Many NHL teams and college teams picked up on the new offensive weave concepts that were used by Brooks in the Olympics that were once thought to be silly. The extreme training and conditioning that he used were noticed also and teams started to condition their players the same way Brooks did (Gilbert 171). This information relates back on how Brooks became legendary coach and progressed the game with his new successful tactics. He changed the way all teams played because his genius tactics and styles were beyond what any coach had ever had before.
Ultimately, Herb Brooks became one of the greatest coaches of the twentieth century from a multitude of ways. His hard-working personality lead to him being respected by his players and having the same driven mentality that he had. The successful risk he took of daring to change the way hockey is played in North America during the Olympics proved to the country that his new style was the best way to play. The unforgettable accomplishments of saving the Gophers hockey team, defeating the Soviet Union and winning gold for the first time in twenty years, and changing the way hockey is played made Brooks the icon he is today. To sum up, the information presented in this paper proves that Brooks is an unforgettable coaching icon to all of America.

Works Cited
Gilbert, John. Herb brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey Mastermind. MVP Books; 2010.
Legacy Staff. Herb Brooks: Miracle Man. 2011. http://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/article/herb-brooks-miracle-man
10 April 2018
Russell, Kurt. "The Miracle of Achievement." Sporting News. vol. 228, no. 5, 02 February 2004,
p. 8. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=keh&AN=12085595&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Miracle. Directed by Gavin O’Connor, Walt Disney Pictures, 2 February 2004.