Pedro Mccalley
Miracle Final Assignment
I actually remember this when it happened not the importance to the country but the energy and excitement at the time. To start the movie Herb Brooks is setting goals before he even gets the job. After all the years of embarassment play by the U.S.A he felt a new strategy and outlook was needed. He wanted to implement a hybrid of the Russians and Canada to change the way they played. Goal setting is important even for a coach so they challenge themselves as well as the team. Coach Brooks in the beginning had to overcome the doubters to show the committee he was not just another coach and wanted to do it all his way. He chose the team and set his roster without the approval of the council. He took the players he wanted and worked them harder than ever before.
From the beginning there was a lot of sport socialization were players from same universities stuck together. You had rival universities from Minnesota, North Dakota Boston University and UMass. Coach Brooks chose his team without consulting any advisors and explained to his assistant as “I’m not looking for the best just the right ones’. This was one of the ways he was looking to change the team.
Two rivals on the team get into a fight. Before this you could see how this affected one of the top stars who had the issue. You can see how the fight early on between the two rivals helped to end the disparity and let them get back to the hockey. This helped their team building so they could perform and concentrate on the game. Herb Brooks “Skating, passing, flow creativity, this is what this game is all about not old rivalries”. Coach Brooks works the team so hard the assistant questions his ways. The doctor has a great quote for the assistant Doc”If they hate him they won’t hate each other”. Also during a warm up match the team didn’t stay focused during the game checking out the girls. After playing an entire game coach Brooks has assistant stop team and stay on ice because “If you’re not going to work during the game we will work now” Coach Brooks. After working them to the brink of death before the assistant can blow the whistle again Rizo speaks up and introduces himself. Coach Brooks asks him who you play for rizo answers team U.S.A. this ends their after game workout.
Team cohesion was the team comes together and plays as a group. An example of this was the cone head line were players with different schools came together to flow and execute while knowing were the other players will be during plays. The team also shows this during the holidays passing out gifts and horsing around after dinner.
Another aspect was their need for concentration and focus on the design of Coach Brooks’ new plays. In the beginning when he explains this the players have no clue what he is talking about. During the course of the team’s training period you can see the team start to grasp and execute what coach Brooks was explaining. The more they practiced and focused you could see that when the coach explained the play the whole team was on the same page.
Individual motivation coach Brooks used different tactics with individual players. With the goalie he knew he had family issues and new it was a distraction to him. Coach Brooks questioned the goalie about his desire and commitment to the team challenging to prove he was the player he once was before his family issues. He rode him hard and set high expectations to challenge him even threatening to sit him and claiming he was burnt out from all the work he had done. He had allowed ten goals in a warm up match against the Russians. Coach Brooks also motivated one of his top players who were injured by questioning his toughness and challenging his manhood as a person. This angered and motivated this player to go out and leave it all on the ice which ended up motivating the whole team.
Coach Brooks adds a new player which will take one spot away from one of the other players. This causes arousal and anxiety to the team not knowing who the new guy will replace. It also helps to keep the team motivated to continue to work hard and push. It is also a test of nerves under pressure. Individually this motivates Rizo because he has been flustered and not focusing coach eve n says to him “Put the puck in the net” this concerns Rizo and puts him on edge.
The team begins to peak performance against the Russians they are skating with and not being intimidated by the Russians. The goalie faced a ton of shots during the semifinal match and showed his greatness in net. Rizo scores the game winner as captain of the U.S.A. team after a teammate makes an incredible play to get him the puck.
Now here is the kicker would they have won if they were playing these games on foreign soil and didn’t have the support of the American people? Never the less outside influence like the crowd was a very important factor in this game. Chants of U.S.A. inspired and motivated the team. The electricity and excitement helped give the team extra energy to overcome the Russian team. As for coach Brooks you can see the relief and enjoyment of beating and overcoming his own hardships when they defeated the Russians.
I enjoyed this movie it is one of the best stories in sports history and it is very motivating. There are so many different ways to explain how this movie has symbolism and inspiring moments and the great part about it is it is all true.