The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - November 23, 1992 - Page 3
q&A, 44 *coaO/ T77
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Taylor
The 1994 Olympic hockey
coach discusses his career
John Niyo
LL'
RAMM
Tim Taylor has been the head
coach of Yale hockey since 1976. He
captained the 1963 ECAC champion
Harvard Crimson and remained
there as an assistant for seven years
before moving to New Haven. Tay-
lor's 1985-86 Bulldogs were the
winningest team in Yale history. In
1986-87 he earned ECAC Coach of
the Year honors after taking a re-
building Eli squad to the ECAC
semifinals.
While at Yale, Taylor has been
active in USA Hockey. He was as-
sistant general manager and
assistant coach of the 1984 Olympic
team. He coached four World
Championship squads and the 1991
second-place Canada Cup team. In
the summer of 1992, Taylor was
named head coach of the 1994 U.S.
Olympic team. Daily Hockey Writer
Brett Forrest spoke with Taylor
* recently about his experiences in
amateur hockey.
Daily: Has coaching the U.S.
team in the World Championships
been a worthwhile experience for
you?
Taylor: Obviously it's been a
great international experience. It has
given me an opportunity to work
with the best players in our country,
who participate in the National
Hockey League.
It has also given me the chance to
coach at the elite world level, which
to me, is the most enjoyable level of
hockey to coach. It's a refreshing
style, it's very challenging, there is a
very high skill level. All the oppo-
nents are extremely well prepared. I
have truly enjoyed the whole inter-
national experience.
D: What are your feelings toward
the Canada Cup tournament? Was it
difficult to step in and take over as
head coach when Bob Johnson be-
came ill in 1991?
T: The Canada Cup truly repre-
sents the best players in the world
going at each other representing
their own countries. The only down
side to the Canada Cup is the time of
* year that it is played. -Being played
in August and September, sometimes
you find athletes and teams that
maybe aren't prepared to the fullest.
As far as our specific situation
With the United States, with Bob
Johnson's illness at that time and
subsequent death, it was a very emo-
tional time. He was a man who was
very near and dear to all of us who
were involved with the program. I
give my utmost respect to the ath-
letes because they performed very
well under very difficult circum-
stances.
D: Was there a difference be-
tween coaching professional players
and Division I college players?
T: Coaching is coaching. As long
as the athletes and coaching staff are
on the same page and are motivated
toward the same degree, coaching
the pros is an absolute pleasure.
They are just that - they are profes-
sionals. They know how to train.
They know how to prepare them-
selves. They know the game. They
pick things up very quickly. They
are very responsive.
I think over the years there have
been a lot of negative things written
about the professional hockey player
and his coachability. I think nothing
is farther from the truth. For the
most part, pros are very coachable.
D: How satisfying is it for you to
finally get the Olympic head coach-
ing job after having been involved in
USA Hockey for years?
T: I am, needless to say, very
excited and really looking forward to
(David Roberts and Pat
Neaton) are both very
strong candidates.
They are in our elite
athlete pool. If we go
with a group of
amateurs and college
players, basically,
those kids will be very
much in contention.
the challenge. I have been involved
in the world class level of USA
Hockey for a number of years and to
get the opportunity to coach the U.S.
team in the Olympics is a thrill of a
lifetime.
D: Do you have any immediate
plans for the team?
T: The first thing we have to do
is resolve this whole situation sur-
rounding the Dream Team -
whether or not we are going to be
using the NHL, whether or not the
NHL is going to cease operation,
thus allowing their players to partic-
ipate in the Olympics.
D: What is your opinion on that
matter?
T: I think it would be very excit-
ing either way. I think there are a lot
of pros and cons to both sides of that
issue. Philosophically, I may be op-
posed to it.
In a practical sense, everyone has
to respect the fact that yes, indeed,
our very best hockey players are
playing in the National Hockey
League. If we, as a country, are ob-
ligated to put our best players on the
ice in the Olympics, it is difficult to
do that without the cooperation of
the NHL.
D: Do you think the short amount
of time between the Olympics -
only two years - will be a factor?
T: It could be. It could work to
our advantage. On the down side, it
gives us less time to plan the logis-
tics of any kind of pre-Olympic
training, any tour, or any schedule.
But in reality, those things are not
planned four years in advance.
Maybe they should be, but tradition-
ally they're not.
On the up side, perhaps there are
more people familiar with what has
to be done in order for us to be suc-
cessful. Memories of a fairly suc-
cessful campaign in '92 in Al-
bertville are fresh on the minds of a
lot of people that are involved in
hockey in our country. Perhaps it
will be a plus that way.
D: What can you say of the
Olympic prospects of two Michigan
players who are at the perfect age to
play on the '94 squad - David
Roberts and Pat Neaton?
T: They are both very strong
candidates. They are in our elite
athlete pool. If we go with a group
of amateurs and college players, ba-
sically, those kids will be very much
in contention.
D: The final four teams in the
NCAA Tournament last year were
all from the Midwest. Why has the
recent rise of the Midwest in college
hockey occurred?
T: I think these are cyclical
things. I don't think there is any ex-
planation as to why one area of the
country should be stronger than an-
other in terms of their collegiate
hockey product.
I don't know what's going to go
on this year. I know Maine once
again is ranked as one of the top
teams in the country. Clarkson in the
ECAC is favored to be one of the top
teams in the country. There are some
very good teams out here in the East.
Sure, Michigan and Lake Supe-
rior come out of the Central League
as very highly-regarded teams. As
the season unfolds there will be a lot
of good teams in the WCHA. I don't
think there is any reason to think one
region is going to have a lock on the
quality of hockey at the collegiate
level.
D: What is it about the Yale ex-
perience that has kept you from pur-
suing a professional coaching ca-
reer?
T: I could answer that question in
a two-pronged response. I enjoy
working at Yale. It's a great envi-
ronment. It's a university which
keeps things in proper perspective
between athletics and academics.
There are a lot of very high quality
people to work with and to work
around. The quality of the student
athlete we get here is extremely high
and they're extremely coachable.
The other thing about working at
Yale is that the school has given me
every opportunity to pursue some of
these interests I have coaching at the
international level and with USA
Hockey. I thank Yale for that. Per-
haps I would not have had that many
opportunities had I been somewhere
else or had I been in pro hockey.
D: Do you find it a tremendous
disadvantage in recruiting not being
able to offer athletic scholarships to
players?
T: There is no doubt we have
some hurdles to overcome, but there
are some real plusses, too, that we
can sell. The fact that we don't have
athletic scholarships in this day and
age, in this economic climate is a
difficult barrier when you do get out
there recruiting.
The prestige of the school and the
quality and value of the Yale ed-
ucation is something you can sell.
Yes, it makes it more difficult, but
not impossible.
OSU-Michigan series
dominated by coaches
COLUMBUS - It wasn't exactly Woody Hayes and Bo
Schembechler walking off the field Saturday, as Michigan and Ohio
State battled to a tie in the "snake pit" in Columbus.
But fittingly, in a series that was made what it is by two
controversial coaches, this latest chapter will be remembered for the
bosses who were patrolling the two sidelines and their separate
controversies that are following them around like shadows.
On one sideline, the one with all the maize and blue, you had Gary
Moeller baffling Michigan fans with his play-calling for the second
week in a row.
Mired in poor field position and afraid to throw the ball -
especially after an early interception by Elvis Grbac - what could have
been a last-minute drive for a score turned into a textbook example of
how to run out the clock.
Was he playing not to lose?
"When the ball was on my 9-yard line, I was playing not to lose, I'll
tell you that," Moeller shot back at reporters after the game. Moeller's
relatively placid ride as Michigan head coach is hitting some turbulence
of late - angry fans, impatient media. Three ties in one season will do
that to a relationship.
But compared to John Cooper, Moeller's world is still Utopia.
Cooper, of course, is the favorite
chew toy of the rabid media and
frothing fans down in Columbus, a
town which doesn't take losing
football games very well.
Especially when the other team is
Michigan. Cooper has yet to beat
Michigan in five tries since taking k
over as OSU's head coach after
Earle Bruce was fired.
"You want to gamble, guys, but
you gamble with my chips,"
Cooper said, as he tried to explain
to reporters why he didn't attempt a
two-point conversion late in the
game.
Cooper, apparently, is
determined not to repeat history. He
was blasted in 1990 when, with the
score tied, 13-13, a failed fourth- Cooper
down play by the Buckeyes late in
the game led to J.D. Carlson's game-winning field goal.
"We went for it down here a couple of years ago and lost the game,"
Cooper said. "I did it last time, I wasn't going to do it again."
That is the sort of mentality that has invaded the strategical mind of
Ohio State's football coach. I'm not going to screw up big anymore. A
pretty awkward way to have to lead a football team.
A bad pass becomes poor play-calling. A fumble becomes improper
preparation. It's strange the way a scapegoat becomes the outlet for
everyone's frustrations.
The constant pelting of questions and all the second-guessing has
taken a coach - a coach who might very well be a "bad" coach - and
turned him into a rather pitiful sight.
He dreads his two-hour call-in show that airs every Wednesday
night from 7-9 p.m. And he dreads the postgame press conferences
every Saturday.
"I'm not getting into that. I'm not going to answer that question,"
Cooper said Saturday, when asked about how the tie might affect his
job status. "I don't have any role in that decision. You're going to have
to ask someone who makes those decisions - either the board of
trustees or (OSU president) Dr. (Gordon) Gee or possibly even the local
press, the way they wrote this week."
Gee told a swarm of reporters after the game that Cooper's job is
safe.
"There is no opening at Ohio State, and we should not speculate
about it," Gee said.
Funny, as recently as Friday he seemed to be saying otherwise. Gee
commented that a 9-2 record would be a respectable sign of
improvement over last year's 8-3 finish, thus requiring a victory for his
coaching survival.
And Thursday, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Ohio State
was prepared to pay the $342,000 necessary to buy out Cooper's
See NIYO, Page 4
a
!I
*Women swimmers split weekend meets
Iby Wendy Law
Lions and Tigers ... and Wol-
verines, oh well. The Michigan wo-
men's swimming and diving team
(3-2 Big Ten, 3-4 overall) defeated
the Princeton Tigers by a score of
219-80 Friday, however Big Ten
rival Penn State defeated the Wolve-
s rines 155-144 in the triangular meet.
Michigan dominated both Penn
State and Princeton in several
events. Senior co-captain Mindy
Gehrs won both the 200-yard butter-
fly (2:04.23) and the 200-yard indivi-
dual medley (2:05.64).
Other double-event winners for
the Wolverines were sophomore Lara
Hooiveld and senior Kirsten
Silvester. Hooiveld took the 100-
and 200-yard breaststroke with times
of 1:03.92 and 2:21.20. Silvester
won the 500-yard freestyle (5:00.07)
and the 1000-yard freestyle
(10:05.03).
Gehrs and Hooiveld, together
with freshman Beth Jackson and
junior Kathy Deibler, also took the
400-yard medley relay with a time of
3:52.21.
Two Michigan divers also won
their individual events. Senior co-
captain Margie Stoll took the 1-
meter event with a score of 263.80.
Freshman Carrie Zarse took the 3-
meter event with her 287.50 per-
formance.
Michigan coach Jim Richardson
got strong performances from Jack-
son, Deibler, and junior Amy
Bohnert. Jackson finished second and
1 third against Princeton and Penn
State, respectively, with a time of
Deibler excelled in the 200-yard
freestyle with a time of 1:52.04,
placing second only to Penn State.
Bohnert finished second (against
Princeton) and fifth (against Penn
State) in the 200-yard backstroke
with 2:08.22.
Despite the strong performances
by some of the individual Wolverine
swimmers, Richardson was
disappointed with Michigan's failure
to beat Penn State.
"I was pleased with the meet,"
Richardson said. "We swam a good
meet. We had a couple of people
who had outstanding swims. Mindy
Gehrs - all of her swims were
excellent. Lara Hooiveld had a very,
very good 100 breaststroke and what
I consider to be a very good 200
breaststroke. Amy Bohnert in 200
back was excellent. Beth Jackson's
200 IM was excellent.
"The rest of the swims were
competed well. But we were
disappointed with the outcome of the
meet. We wanted to win the meet."
Contributing to Penn State's
victory was the fact that the Nittany
'We competed well.
But we were
disappointed with the
outcome of the meet.'
- Jim Richardson
Lions shaved and tapered for the
meet.
"The real difference in the meet,
in my mind, were Penn State's No.
2, No. 3, and No. 4 swimmers being
shaved and tapered," Richardson said.
"They were able to make significant
drops in time. And I think that was
what really affected the outcome of
the meet, more than how our No. I
people swam and how their No. 1
people swam because there were no
NCAA cuts in the meet. That's
something when we try to rest, we
want to see how close to cuts we can
get. We expect to be fairly close."
The Wolverines now turn their
thoughts to the Speedo Collegiate
Cup meet which is being held Dec.
3-5 at Canham Natatorium.
"We're going to do a kind of
mixed bag for the Speedo meet,"
Richardson said. "We've got some
people who are going to taper for
two weeks, some people who are
going to taper for three days, and
some people who are going to taper
for one day. That's based on what
they did this summer, how they've
looked this fall, what they feel they
need to be doing at this point, and
what the coaching staff feels they
need to be doing at this point. So
that's what we are going to do for
the Speedo Cup."
MEIJER
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he added. "We
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