Winnipeg Monarchs Bantam 1 head coach John Fehr had a twoyear plan for a group of players that he started working with in 2015- 16. In Year 1, he gave them them a base of skills and strategies. In Year 2, the players took the package and ran with it. Last spring, the Monarchs won the Hockey Manitoba Provincial Triple A Bantam Championship and it would certainly seem that Coach Fehr’ s plan worked like a charm. |
Go undefeated in the regular season at the AAA Bantam II level … check.
Win the AAA city championships in Bantam II … check.
Only lose five games all season in AAA Bantam I … check.
Sweep the city championships in AAA Bantam I … check.
Win provincials in AAA Bantam 1 … check.
Make it to the bronze medal game in the AAA Bantam I Canadian Westerns … check.
It has been quite the ride for Winnipeg Monarchs Head Coach, John Fehr and his players over the course of the past two calendar years. Taking on the Bantam II Monarchs team for the 2015-16 season, Fehr’ s plan was to implement systems and strategies that his first-year bantam players could use and then take with them the following season. Mission Accomplished. |
“ It was always a two-year plan with these guys,” said coach Fehr.“ After the first year of Bantam II, The Rink Academy started up their team, so I lost four players to that, and one other elsewhere. I may have had the team for two years, but we kind of started of fresh again with somewhat of a new team this season. There was some turnover, but the new guys that stepped in also really stepped up for us and we had a good regular season going 28-5-0-1 this year.”
Although typically, one might dwell on the city and provincial championships as important points of reflection on a winning
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season, the 11-season AAA coach knows that you cannot reach the top without some challenges along the way.
“ Earlier in the year, we went to Calgary for a tournament and we really got our butts kicked,” Fehr reflected.“ They weren’ t the same teams that we ended up playing in the Westerns, but they were certainly the same caliber of teams. So I think that trip was really important for the kids to kind of have an idea of what was coming later in the season. I really think that we represented ourselves well out there in Calgary, as all of those western teams are generally stronger and have many more kids to draw from.”
Not only did the mid-season Calgary trip provide a sense of what was to come, but it also served as a bit of a wake up call to the young boys, teaching them patience and team work in times of struggle.
“ We started the regular season really well, going 11-0 off the bat,” Coach Fehr said.“ But then after Calgary we actually struggled. Following the Remembrance Day weekend tournament, we played. 500 hockey up until
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Photos courtesy of Dr. Audrey Toth |
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Luc Benedictson |