5 Questions with Columbus Cottonmouths' head coach Jerome Bechard
Jerome Bechard has been in Columbus as long as there has been minor league hockey.
Bechard joined the Cottonmouths as a player for the franchise’s first season, 1996-97. He was part of the team’s first league championship in 1998. He became an assistant coach in 2003 and became head coach the following year. He led Columbus to its second championship in his first season as head coach.
Is the job as coach or general manager more difficult?
They are actually both pretty difficult. The coaching comes a little easier for me, but by no means is easy. You need to pick the right combination of skill, grit, personality and motivation to put a team together, and then mold them into a championship team. At the same time, you’re always looking for a way to improve, whether it’s by bringing in new players or working harder in practice. As GM, I look at more of the business side. To me, this is a lot harder and it is all about relationships. The relationships that I have with my office staff, our sponsors and partners, and our loyal fans are all key to our success as an organization. I guess at the end of it all, whether you are a coach or GM, it’s all about the relationships you form and treating everyone the way you want to be treated, with truthfulness, honesty, and graciousness.
Are the bus rides the team takes to play an opponent harder now as a coach or harder back when you were a player?
Actually, I think the bus rides were longer as a player, literally. The teams were farther away from each other in the league I played in. As a player, it is mentally exhausting.
You play a game on the road and hop on the bus for eight hours, unpack your gear at 8 o’clock in the morning, go to the hotel and sleep for four hours, eat lunch, nap, and be back at the rink to play another game. As the coach, the trips seems a little shorter knowing you don’t have to perform on the ice. It does hurt when you have to go directly off the bus and take your kids to school at 7:00 o’clock in the morning, that’s a drag.
Do you ever have the desire to put the skates and sweater back on and play?
On nights when I can just feel that the boys don’t have it -- that’s when I want to get out there. For whatever reason, I had a knack to do something when we needed a boost a fight, a hit, draw a penalty anything. If we were playing poorly, I was going to make sure the other team knew that they were in for a real battle. They might win the game, but they were gonna know that they played one.
How will having the new rink available help you and your team?
The new ice rink will allow us to get on the ice consistently, from training camp through the end of the year. We won’t have to have days off anymore because of another event at the Civic Center. We won’t have that as an excuse.
It will also help us grow our fan base from the ground up. With our help and the help of Marcel Richard (the new Ice rink Mgr.) we can help CHA (Columbus Hockey Association) grow potential Cottonmouth players. Columbus Youth Hockey can finally get enough ice time to grow, get better and use hockey as an avenue to attain scholarships and such.
You came here to play hockey in 1996. What has kept you here?
The people of Columbus are the main reason. Martha and Charlie Morrow, Phil Roberto and Bruce Garber brought us here. Wanda and Shelby Amos have poured their hearts and souls into this team to keep us here. Everyone from the ushers at the Civic Center to the produce guy at the local grocery, to the mechanic that works on my truck they have all opened up their community for my family and I. Thank you. I believe that I am here for a reason, and the big guy upstairs wants me to put a winning hockey team together. But more importantly, to show people that the more you do for others, the more others will do for you. I try to teach that to not only my players, but to any kids that I may have the privilege to speak to.
This story was originally published August 23, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "5 Questions with Columbus Cottonmouths' head coach Jerome Bechard."