A weekly BCHL e-newsletter, the BCHL Insider had an article with Kings Head Coach Kent Lewis. In it, Kent talks with Brent Mutis from the BCHL about the Christmas break and the Kings first half:
Sending your players home for Christmas brings mixed feelings for any junior hockey coach.
One one hand, you’re happy to know they’ll be able to catch up with the family they’ve been away from for so long but you worry they’ll spend a bit too much time around the dinner table too.
Longtime BCHL bench boss Kent Lewis has successfully hurdled several holiday breaks and his message before sending players off before the break is simple.
“Enjoy time with your family, soak it up but be smart, be safe, hit the gym a bit and don’t come back fat,” sums up the Powell River coach. “But the kids are smarter now; my first run here from 1990 to ’98, you’d have a lot of throwing up (during practices after Christmas). The last few years, guys are smarter; they are very fit.”
Hosting Island rival Alberni Valley Dec. 29, Lewis was pleased to see good energy from his players in their first skate back from holidays.
“What’s neat is to see how excited they are to be back,” said Lewis. “They’re almost as excited as before the break when they were going home.”
That enthusiasm bodes well for the club that recored two ties and an overtime loss in the three games before the break. The hope now is that nagging pains and injuries have healed up and the club can ice a full lineup this weekend and into 2013.
“We haven’t said it and we won’t say it’s a reason but we’ve been playing at times with nine, 10 guys out (of the lineup),” says Lewis. “It’s been one of the most interesting first halves I’ve had in five or six years.”
There are positives to draw from as Lewis felt the Kings outplayed each of their opponents going into the break but didn’t get the results. With the Island standings bunched up in the middle, anything can happen down the stretch.
Lewis’ first goal for the Christmas break has already been accomplished.
“The key is that they all get back safe.”
