“When I heard all of them come in and speak… it made me want to get my sons into hockey,” McBride said. “That’s the kind of people that it produces, these men.”

She was in search of male role models for her sons. Enter hockey and the Richfield Little Spartans, a new youth hockey program for various ages, experience levels and diverse backgrounds. The diversity piece was huge for McBride, who moved to Minnesota for medical school in 2015 and said she’s “never felt a part of this community.”

“In every sector I go it’s, unfortunately, diversity really does make a difference for me feeling comfortable,” McBride said.

Terri McBride and her son, Xavier, take in the Blues vs. Wild game on March 23 at Xcel Energy Center. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Walsh)

Hockey came at the perfect time for her family last fall. Her son Xavier started hockey in December with the Little Spartans.

“It’s really been like perfect timing that we had a new family and new structure to come to every weekend,” McBride said.

McBride and her son attended their first Wild game with a group of other Little Spartans participants and their parents/guardians, thanks to InSports Foundation, on March 23 when Minnesota hosted the St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center. Xavier loved the peanuts and the music, his mom said, and he gave his approval of the game with a thumbs-up signal from his seat in the lower bowl behind the Wild’s net.

It was also fitting that the Blues were in town because Xavier was born in St. Louis. He came two months early while McBride was in the area for her Coast Guard drills. While Xavier was in the NICU in St. Louis for a month, Blues fans celebrated the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2019.

“We’re not hockey people,” McBride said. “We’ve never been to a game. I don’t even understand the rules. We want to learn.”

McBride and her son have started to learn through being part of the Little Spartans program. This winter was the first season for the program, with Anthony Walsh, Edina graduate and author of the children’s book “Hockey is for Everybody,” as a coach. The program met each weekend in the mornings starting in December at Richfield Ice Arena with anywhere between 40 to 65 kids participating.

Nine-year-old Carlos Martinez took in the Blues vs. Wild action as well, as part of the Little Spartans group. It was his first Wild game, and he said he liked seeing the players up close. His favorite thing about playing hockey? “Skating fast.”

Walsh recalls how Martinez couldn’t skate – he’d never tried before – when he first joined the program.

“Now, this kid is flying around,” Walsh said. “One-timers, putting it home. It’s incredible.”

Brian Boyer, another coach with the Little Spartans, attended the game with his 5-year-old son, Remi. March 23 wasn’t Remi’s first Wild game. He got interested enough to start playing hockey after coming to a lot of Wild games in the past, his dad said. Now, Remi loves getting on the ice with the Little Spartans.

“We wake him up Saturday morning, and he just jumps out of bed,” Boyer said. “We just count down the days of the week until Saturday… and he gets to play. He’s obsessed.”

They’re going to continue to stay involved with the Little Spartans, and Boyer said he looks forward to coaching more, too.

“It’s been really fun to watch him really fall in love with hockey, and then really focus on something,” Boyer said. “For a 5-year-old, there’s not a lot that interested him. It’s been really fun. He wants to play as much hockey as he possibly can.”

Special visitor
Before the Wild game that day, a game ultimately won by the Blues 5-4 in overtime, the Little Spartans had a special guest at their practice at Richfield Ice Arena. Former Wild defenseman and Elk River native Nate Prosser stopped by and was on the ice with the young players.

Boyer said that while a lot of the kids didn’t realize who Prosser was, it was the parents who were excited to see the former NHLer working with their kids, since they remember when Prosser played for the Wild from the 2009-10 to 2016-17 seasons. Boyer added that the kids were all excited about which former NHL player was going to see them, taking guesses in the locker room the previous week, Boyer said, “but their guesses were far from accurate.”

Parent Owen Fors noticed more parents than usual at the special morning practice with Prosser in attendance.

“He had a really nice way of working with the kids,” Fors said. “Obviously, a lot of hockey experience. Knows the nitty gritty details. So, he knows how to make the kids focus on those little details but still have fun while doing it.”

Owen Fors took his son Kyllian to his first Minnesota Wild game as part of the Little Spartans outing on March 23. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Walsh)

While young Remi was already a veteran fan of Wild hockey games, Fors’ son, Kyllian, sat nearby at the X on March 23 and held a souvenir certificate marking his very first Wild game. Kyllian sat with his dad. The tradition of Richfield hockey is a generational activity for the Fors family.

Owen Fors was on the last varsity team for Richfield, and now his son Kyllian is part of the rebirth of the program. The Richfield program merged with Kennedy during Owen’s squirt year of hockey, he said, so he didn’t get a chance to play out of mites with Richfield. But by eighth grade, he had an opportunity to play on Richfield’s last varsity team; he was only one of a dozen players who returned the next season, meaning they couldn’t have a team.

Owen is happy to have a youth hockey program back in Richfield for his son, and he noted the benefits of a city having its own team.

“It kind of just builds pride in the program and the school,” Owen said.

Father-son hockey traditions
Six-year-old Dominic had also been to Wild games before, but he took in the action on this day with his Little Spartans cohorts. He said he likes “to learn” when he’s watching the Wild. As a player, Dominic likes to skate, score and make new friends.

Besides the Little Spartans, Dominic, who’s been skating since he was 3 years old, plays within Edina’s youth organization as well. But his dad, Tony DeRocha, wants his son to keep skating with the Little Spartans in hopes that he’ll learn a lot of basic hockey skills.

Little Spartans are diverse, from age to hockey skills to ethnic and economic backgrounds. DeRocha also played hockey, for Cretin-Derham Hall where he’s currently on the coaching staff for the football team. His grandparents were immigrants.

“Just think generationally,” DeRocha said. “When they become parents, what the game will look like.”

It’s exciting to see kids have this opportunity with the Little Spartans, DeRocha said.

“They’ve got a good thing going,” DeRocha said. “It’s important as a parent to see him see other kids making those strides.”

Little Spartans on the ice at Richfield Ice Arena. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Walsh)

The post Little Spartans appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Well-Known Player/Coach Jake McCoy Passes at 79

It is with great sadness that we have lost one of Minnesota’s and Minneapolis’s outstanding hockey figures of our generation.  It was reported yesterday (Friday, Feb 5, 2021) that Thomas “Jake” McCoy passed away.  It was my pleasure and privilege to have spent several hours interviewing Jake for the article below in preparation for his MHM lifetime achievement award presented to him 2 years ago.  RIP Jake McCoy.  Funeral arrangements are pending.

This Article was also Republished for HDM Minneapolis 2020

Jake McCoy

Minnesota Hockey Magazine is proud to announce that its Marv Jorde Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Jake McCoy at the Dec 22^nd Parker’s Reunion event at Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub. Jake is well known in the hockey community as a player and longtime coach in Minneapolis and Richfield High School. Festivities begin at noon and is open to all senior hockey players and friends at no cost. Join us!

Jake’s Playing Days.

Thomas James (Jake) McCoy, born in 1942, grew up playing hockey on the local ponds and playgrounds of South Minneapolis. Like many kids from that era, the local outdoor ice was where you learned to have passion and love for the game. It wasn’t clear, however, that hockey was going to be Jake’s sport of choice.

McCoy, center, led DeLaSalle to a state tournament birth in 1959

Most people don’t know, but he was actually a basketball player at first and did not play organized hockey until 1953 as an 11 year old sixth grader. He played basketball in 7th and 8th grade, but continued to spend many hours during the winter skating at Pearl Park, playing pick-up hockey.

In 9th grade, while a freshman at DeLaSalle, Jake finally became a full time hockey player on local Bantam (PeeWee) teams since DeLaSalle did not have a varsity high school team yet. As a senior, he led his DeLaSalle Islander team to its first ever Independent State High School tournament appearance in only its second year of varsity hockey. Remarkably, at the same time, he was playing on a local senior amateur team called the Royal 58 Beer. This team won both the Minnesota State and National Amateur Championships that year.

As a Gopher, back row, 3rd from left

After playing one year at St. John’s University, he transferred to the University of Minnesota as a walk-on. He was not eligible to play varsity his sophomore year, but played on the freshmen team. As a junior and senior in 1962 and 1963 he finished his college playing days for John Mariucci’s Gophers.  

Of his Gopher playing days, Jake says, “I was deeply indebted to John Mariucci for giving me the chance to play varsity hockey. He didn’t play politics and didn’t have to give me a chance, but he did”.

In the fall of 1963, Jake attended open tryouts for the 1964 USA Men’s Olympic Team at Wakota arena in South St. Paul.

Just eight years after giving up basketball for hockey, he made the team as a defensemen while competing for a position against many Olympic veterans, college All-American’s and pros. He competed in the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. 

About the tryouts, Jake recounts, “Every day new guys were coming and going. You just took it one day at a time.”  

His experience in Innsbruck was memorable,”I’ll never forget. The setting was fabulous, the teams were great. The Russians and Czechs were ferocious when they played. The Canadians were full of WCHA players we had played with and against in college.”

Team USA, 1964 Olympics

After the Olympics in 67/68 he played in the USHL with the Minnesota Nationals, a farm team for the USA National team. In 68/69 he played with another USHL team in Duluth, the Duluth Port Stars, and then the Rochester Mustangs when the Duluth team folded.

He went on to play many years of senior amateur hockey throughout the United States and Canada, first for Steven’s Buick, then with Marv Jorde’s Parkers Hockey Club where he won 8 Minnesota State and 6 National Senior Men’s Championships.

Former teammates have high praise for not only his on-ice talents but also for his dedication to coaching and, in general, his character, friendship and humor off-ice.  

Rich Brown, USHL, IHL and Parker player said, “Jake ranks with Marv Jorde for enthusiasm for the love of the game. He blocked shots as very few could. He was like a rock on defense and moved the puck. He was always a factor in the game he was in.” 

Dave Arundel, a former youth player for Jake, Wisconsin Badger and eventual teammate of Jake’s after playing some pro hockey adds, “Playing with Jake was the most fun I have ever had playing hockey. Jake was a tough, tough D-Man, and very skilled. The BEST passer I ever played with.  Usually played with no helmet and NO ONE blocked more shots than he did. And…he was the most unselfish D partner you could ever have. He was always dishing you the puck with a perfect pass. He made you look GREAT out there.” 

A Coaching Legend.  

Jake started coaching Minneapolis youth hockey teams in 1960. He coached hockey in Richfield at all levels from mites through head hockey coach from 1966-2013 and was also the head hockey coach at Minneapolis Washburn from 1986-1990.

McCoy as youth hockey coach

He continued to coach youth hockey in Richfield and in Eden Prairie for his grandson’s squirt team. In all he spent over 50 consecutive years coaching hockey in Minnesota. He still does some youth coaching today.

Jake coached at a time when Richfield’s many outdoor skating rinks were loaded with kids hoping to someday play high school hockey for the hometown Spartans.  There were several successful years – six appearances in the old one-class state tournament, including a championship game appearance in 1976. With dwindling numbers over the years, the Richfield team fell on hard times until, in November 2016, the decision was made to shut down its program. It was a difficult thing to take for Jake and the community at large. 

Jake commented, “It was a sad day. We just ran out of kids.” Of his Richfield teams he said, “We played in a very tough Lake Conference. The best part of  coaching the Richfield kids was that they were blue collar. They played hard and they worked hard. When we lost, the kids just kept working harder.”  

Richfield started hockey back in 1954-55. Jake added, “It was hard to see that kind of history end.”

Jake, Richfield Hockey Coach

Jake always enjoyed being a coach and learned that the game of hockey is very important to kids’ development at all levels. He believes if you give kids a chance to play in crucial situations, they will have success both on and off the rink.

He commented, “If you give kids a chance, they will surprise you. Today’s win-at-all-cost thinking comes at the expense of the kids. I’m glad I played all the kids. It instills confidence in them and they will give back.”

He was inducted into the Richfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Minneapolis Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.

Dave Arundel said, “He was my bantam coach in 7^th, 8^th and 9^th grades. I was in AWE of him. First of all…I wanted to be like Jake. I wanted to play hockey like him, I wanted to talk like him and I wanted his sense of humor. If I have had ANY success as a hockey player it was due to Jake!”  

Coach Jake McCoy

Arundel summarizes how many of his former players thought of him, “Jake McCoy was, is and will always be my idol and hero. He is one of the top 2 or 3 most influential people in my life. Selfless, encouraging, humorous, understanding and unconditional with his love.” Quite the testimonial.  

You can also add “humble” to the list of adjectives to describe Jake. In discussing his playing and coaching career, Jake very much downplayed the success he has had over the years, “I had a lot of good fortune and think I am one of the luckiest guys in the world. I had a great run. I had fun and success and you can’t beat that.”

Lifetime Achievement Award.

For Jake’s long time playing and coaching achievements and for his significant, generous and caring contributions to youth and high school hockey in Minnesota, Minnesota Hockey Magazine is proud to bestow on Jake McCoy the Marv Jorde Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award.  Now!

Congratulations, Jake!

Jake is dedicating this award to the late Marv Jorde, another person who had a remarkable influence on those he touched.

(Credits: Some information and photos taken from previous web-based articles on Jake McCoy and Richfield hockey history.)

The post A Lifetime of Giving Kids a Chance appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.