The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 22, 1979-Page 11
NOR TiHAMERICA A DIST ANT 2ND
Soviets czars of ockey
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By BJLLY SAHN
A Daily Sports Analysis
No longer are the players of the
National Hockey League considered the
epitome, of world hockey excellence.
Those days are passed. The current
elite of hockey wear the red jerseys of
the USSR.
The most recent clash of these two
groups in Madison Square Garden
resulted in a clearly dominant Soviet
National team taking two out of three
games from the NHL stars. The hitting-
checking style native to the NHL
could not stop the superior Russian
style of speed skating and puck han-
dling.
The better conditioned Soviets simply
tired the National Leaguers out. This
isn't surprising considering the Soviets
train intensely for almost 12 months
compared to the NHL players who only
see the ice for eight months. According
to Michigan's . hockey coach Dan
Farrell, the superior condition of the
Russians enabled them "to sustain a
high level of play, not only through 60
minuts of play, but through all three
games.
"The Russian system of play-a high
degree of organization," he continued,
"probably won over individual talent of
the NHL team. The ability of the
Russians to sustain a high quality, high
intensity of play, with the pros trying to
slow them down by hitting them, was
not effective at all."
What happened? The Russians are
not superior to the Canadians or
Americans in their potential to play the
game, but the difference between the
two systems lies in the way each
system develops its young talent.
When the Russians spot a child with a
natural talent for the sport, they will
develop that talent to its fullest. "The
young kids who show any aptitude are
put directly into disciplined sports
schools," according to Toronto Maple
Leaf coach Roger Neilson.
"They (Russian coaches) teach the
kids skills," said Farrell. "It's highly
organized with a lot of individual skill
development at an early age," he con-
tinued.
In comparison, the North American
system has a totally different em-
phasis. "In Canada, the emphasis is on
competition, on games," remarked
Neilson.

The Niorth American result tnen is
that kids are having fun, but they are
not exposed to intense practice and
training sessions, as are the Russians.
The reasons are two-fold, the first being
economics and the second being fun-
damental differences in objectives.
The economics of the situation in Nor-
th America severely limits long
training sessions. "Ice rentals are
becoming so high, as are the costs of
uniforms and equipment," said Farrell,
"that the result is a lot of local
programs are folding; arenas are
closing."
Wisconsin's hockey coach Bob John-
son views the problem this way: "The
game is played today on artificial ice
(indoor rinks), at a cost of $80 to $90 per
hour. Combine the cost of ice time with
the costs to equp the kids, and you can

understand why parents want to see
them play. Therefore, there is very lit-
tle practice. It's a bad training
program for the kids."
Hence, while North American
children are -exposed to minimal.
amounts of training,sthe Soviets are
placng full emphasis on skating and
puck handling in a very organized and
disciplined way.
"It would be very difficult," said
Farrell, "for our society to do what they
do. If you do not practice, you will not
develop your skills. We develop the
great players we do by a process of
osmosis. It's like cream-some guys
just rise to the top."
Yet, thetCanadians especially are at-
tempting to revamp their program on
the local and provincial level, and are
investing millions of dollars into

Canadian hockey.
More important though is Canada's
commitment to the proper development
of coaches. Until recently, there was
really no place to go in North America
to be trained as a hockey coach. Such a
school now exists. However, the Soviet
Union coaches actually go to school to
be trained. "They learn the physiology
of the body, and the psychology of the
game," remarked Farrell. "After the
training, they serve-an apprenticeship
until they get their own teams. In
Russia, there are 20 or so schools for all
sports," he continued.
According to Farrell, Canada's
program is making a difference. The
Canadians are developing more and
better coaches, and as a result better
players. "By broadening the base, you
can improve the upper crust," said
Farrell.
In contrast, the United States gover-
nment does not directly support
development of athletes in any sport.
U.S. amateurs are severely limited by
their resources. In the United States
and Canada, sports are a form of enter-
tainment. They are funded through
private means.
In comparison, sports are a function
of the state in the Soviet Union. They
compete internationally for national
pride. By winning and dominating in-
ternational competition, they reaffirm
their system of government and
society.
"The Soviets are out to conquer the
world in athletics," Farrell commen-
ted. "It's a way for them to show that
their system is the best. This has
tremendous political value. What the
hockey organizers do are allied to what
the (Communist) Party wants. In ter-
ms of the goals and aspirations of the
Party, it's very important to have suc-
cess."
But when you come right down to it,
it's not politically crucial for the North
Americans to overpower the Soviets.
Viewing the Russians' endless source of
funds, their dedication to the sport, and
their nationalistic desire to reach and
maintain supremacy in hockey as in all
sports, there is no doubt that the NHL
players will remain in the back seat a
distant second to the Soviets.

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1


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M "'r

'1

Patti
Smith

THE MONTREAL CANADIENS' Guy Lafleur displays the agile skating that is
becoming a rarity in the N.H.L. The N.H.L. All-Stars' hard-hitting play was very
ineffective against the blazing speed of the Russians in a recent showdown.

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NCAA MEET STAGER'S LAST
Canales leads red-hot tankers

By MARK MIHANOVIC
Perhaps the most certain thing the
Michigan swimmers know about this
weekend's NCAA Championships is the
total uncertainty about where they'll
finish among the highly competitive
field.
While Florida is expected to edge
defending champion Tennessee for the
national title, Wolverine coach Gus
Stager "will take whatever we can get
out of the meet," which will be held at
Cleveland State University.
"We're going into it kind of blind," he
said. "We don't sit down and figure out
how we're going to do based on stats.
The meets don't break that way."
THE MEET will also hold some sen-
timentality for Stager, who will be

coaching the last meet of his 25-year
career.-
Strong individual performances should
come from diver Matt Chelich and
freestylers Fernando Canales and Bob
Murray. Chelich won the national one-
meter dive in 1977 and last year finished
second in the three-meter.
"He has an opportunity to win," said
Stager. "He's one of the best divers in
the country. It depends on the day you
have and the people who are judging
you."
SOPHOMORES Ken Vigilleti and
Kerry Menegay also qualified for the
NCAA's in both diving events. Both
showed fine potential during the course
of the season and came through with
clutch performances in the crucial
prequalifying meet.

Canales is coming off of a Big Ten
meet in which he won five events (the
50, 100, and 500-yard freestyles, and
legs on the 400 and 800-yard freestyle
relays). He isn't worried about
repeating his performance, however.
"It's just the most strenuous com-
petition there can be," he said. "You've
got to go in with the attitude that you're
going to enjoy it and do the best you
can. If you think about it too much, the
level of competition can blow your
mind."
MURRAY, THE sophomore stan-
dout from Washington, D.C., will be
swimming alongside Canales in the 100
free and will also swim in the 50 free
and both the 400 and 800-yard freestyle
relays. Tom Pederson qualified for the
meet in the 50 free.

Three freshmen will get a taste of
national competition for Michigan this
weekend, John Spaid in the 200 and 500
yard freestyles, Tom Ernsting in the
100 and 200-yard breaststrokes, and
Scott Crowder in the 200 butterfly.
Stager wasn't certain how his prized
freshmen would swim at Cleveland.
"Crowder's got to drop (his times). He
is a kind of nemesis. I don't know what
he can accomplish. Tom (Ernsting) is
at his maximum this year. Spaid is
swimming well, and he's a big meet
swimmer, so it'll be interesting to see
what happens.
Junior Paul Griffith will swim
backstroke on the 400 meley relay, and
also swims legs on the 400 and 800-yard
freestyle relays.

TONIGHT at SECOND CHANCE
Tickets available at Second Chance,
Discount Records, Schoolkids Records
Appearing This Weekend "MUGSY"
ANN ARBOR'S 1st


KING SETS NIT SCORING RECORD:

'Bama Tide drowns OSU

96-86

By the Associated Press
NEW YORK-Reggie King set a
National Invitational Tournament
scoring record-and-Robert Scott sparked
a decisive 13-0 Alabama spurt during
the second half as the Crimson Tide
beat Ohio State, 96-86, last night in the
BULLETIN
Indiana's Butch Carter sank
a shot with four seconds left on
the clock last night to give the
Hoosiers a 53-52 victory over in-
trastate rival Purdue and the
National Invitational Tour-
nament (NIT) championship.
The pulsating finish climaxed
an NIT which saw Big Ten
teams claim three of the top
four spots in the tourney.
MORE THAN
BOWS and ARROWS
rantpmnnerrv

NIT's consolation game.
The sturdy 6-foot-6 King, a two-time
Southeast Conference Player of the
Year, led Alabama with 21 points,
giving him 132 for fiveNIT games. The
previous NIT record was 129 points by
Bob Lloyd of Rutgers in four games
during the 1967 tournament.
Scott, who finished with 19 points in
Alabama's balanced scoring offense,
broke a 62-62 tie with a driving shot in
the second half. After that Alabama
ran off 11 straight points, four more by
Scott and two by Joe Hancock on a feed
from Scott and the Crimson Tide had a
75-62 advantage. Ohio State, playing in
its first NIT, never got closer than five
points after the burst.
Eddie Phillips added 18 points for
Alabama, Ken Johnson had 17 and
Hancock finished with 11 as Alabama's
entire starting five reached double
figures.
Guard Kelvin Ransey paced Ohio

State with 24 points, center Herb
Williams scored 22 and Carter Scott
contributed 16.
This was Alabama's third appearan-
ce in the NIT and the first time the
Crimson Tide have finished higher than
fourth.
With King playing his final collegiate
game, firing in 13 points and Johnson
hitting for 12, Alabama built up a 48-42
lead in the freewheeling first half.
The Crimson Tide increased their
lead to 52-46 early in the second half
before Ransey and Williams led an Ohio
State comeback that deadlocked the
score at 62.
Then Scott started hitting while
Alabama shut off Williams inside with a
tenacious defense which prevented the
Buckeyes from getting the ball into
their 6-10 center.
Alabama, which had finished fourth
in the NIT in 1973 and 1977, wound up 22-
11 Ohio State finished 19-12.

SCORES
Exhibition Baseball
Detroit 5, Boston 1
NBA
Atlanta 111, Detroit 104
National Invitational Tournament
Final
Indiana 53, Purdue 52
NHL
Detroit 4, Toronto 2
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