STACKHOUSE’S 10 WEEKEND THOUGHTS

1 – RUSH DROP HOME OPENER – The Saskatchewan Rush are, shockingly, 0-and-2 and could very easily be 2-and-0.  They lost in overtime in Week 1 but may have actually won the game had a video review gone their way and they also dropped Saturday’s home opener 11-10 to Calgary after they ran into a red hot Christian Del Bianco in the Roughnecks goal.  It may sound like I’m making excuses for them, but I still believe the Rush are going to be fine but there should be a sense of urgency going into next week as they play the Vancouver Warriors, who are off to a 2-and-0 start and have a pretty good goalie of their own in Alex Buque (pronounced Boo-kay), who’s second in GAA and first in SPCT.

2 – RUSH GAME ANALYSIS – Robert Church had five points, but none after the midway mark of the second quarter.  Ryan Keenan had 11 shots on goal but didn’t score and I still think the team is going to need a bit more offense from players who are not named Church or Mark Matthews.  Jeff Shattler scored three goals and it’s evident he’s going to have a very good final pro season in what has been a storied career and Dan Lintner had a three point game on Saturday as well so the solutions do lie within.   Not much was said about attendance but it had to be disappointing.  The announced crowd was just over 9000 but that seems like a generous number given how sparsely populated the upper level was.

3 – ATTENDANCE THEORIES – I believe the vaccine passports play a major role in reduced numbers for the Rush, for junior hockey, for the CFL, for even the NHL, and it would be nice if we could allow a team like the Rush to stage a home game without requiring it just to see for certain.  It would also be helpful for Public Health officials to analyze the results.  If the game goes off without a hitch as far as resulting in no mass public casualties or hospitalizations combined with a crowd size of pre-pandemic proportions, then why can’t we aim for a second one?  Here’s what I do know – Roughrider crowds were at normal size pre-Vpass.  Restaurants were flourishing.  Since the Vpass came into effect every single industry affected has seen a very noticeable downturn.  That’s an undeniable fact.  Even the Winnipeg Jets are down 2,000 fans per game from pre-pandemic levels and I’m aware of one instance where fans were offered a free upgrade to the lower bowl from the upper deck to make it look better for television purposes.  Game day Jets ticket prices are, shockingly, low on various online websites.

4 – FAN INTEREST – Let’s assume I’m completely wrong on the reduced attendance and that the main reasons are lack of funds and change of habit or lack of interest.  This would mean teams of all sports at all levels have their work cut out for them to figure out a way to stay economically viable while also attracting people who have found other things to do with their time and money and having fewer people with which to attract simply based on the notion that between 10-and-15% of the general public is unvaxxed.  I believe this number amongst sports fans is actually substantially higher but I won’t get into why I think that because it’s a left-wing triggering philosophy.  It’s over-simplistic, but the first thing I’d try is a price rebate on the next game’s tickets based on how many fewer are in the seats compared to pre-pandemic levels.  So if attendance is down 20%, everyone gets 20% off with the hope attendance goes back up 20%. If it goes up 7%, then the next rebate is 13% and you continue with a similar formula until you get to restored numbers.  Rebating the ‘next’ game also gives you a better chance of fan retention.  Revenue does take a short term hit, but getting people back to the arenas needs to be the first priority and I’d rather have a full building with 20% less money in ticket sales than 20% fewer people and whatever else comes with that as far as reduced revenue.

5 – POSITIVE COACHING – I’ve been super fortunate to have three kids who have had the experience of playing elite level sports (two girls in soccer, volleyball, basketball and a son in basketball and football) and one thing that isn’t lost on me has been the impact of coaches.  In Yorkton, we are lucky to have some very passionate people involved with each sport they coach and I’m appreciative of all of them but I’m going to limit my focus to football simply due to the fact there is limited time and space with which to write and I want to focus, primarily, on my son Matthew.

6 – A BIT OF HISTORY – When Matthew was in grade eight, he didn’t belong anywhere near a football field but through the guidance of people like Scott Musqua, Daryl Struble, Chad Holinaty, and Nick Jonassen he developed to the point where he was on the field in grade twelve for just about everything.  He was the quarterback, a defensive back, a returner, and a kicker/punter.  The confidence shown in him from Mr. Jonassen, in particular, as well as the opportunity afforded to him by Gubba Geisler in Fort Qu’Appelle (where Matthew played during the Spring when there was no program at Sacred Heart) allowed him to develop his skills to the point where he could continue playing at the junior level.

7 – TIM KEARSE – This is where Matthew owes and feels a tremendous amount of gratitude to Tim Kearse, who coached the Calgary Colts in 2019.  TK made Matthew their starting placekicker and punter as a rookie.  Without TK giving Matthew a shot there would be no 2021 season, which culminated in Matt being part of the OFC champion London Beefeaters.  

8 – GAVIN LAKE – The cancelled 2020 season was devastating to Matt as it was to scores of other elite athletes.  If you don’t have an athlete in your family, you will never understand the importance of sports and that’s fine this isn’t about trying to change your mind.  I’m simply saying what it was.  2021 comes along and TK is no longer the coach of Calgary and Matt has to prove himself all over again, which resulted in him getting cut (no ill will to the Colts as rookie and local product Joel Pipke ended up being an All-Canadian punter).  This is where Gavin Lake comes into Matt’s life and makes, perhaps, the biggest impact that a coach has ever had on him.

9 – ABOVE AND BEYOND – Gavin isn’t just a coach.  He’s a mentor and while winning is important, it was easy to see right from the get-go that so too is personal development.  He pays very close attention to his players’ social media posts and holds them accountable for what they throw up.  Coming from me, who posts many things on social media that could/should/does get me into hot water from time to time, may sound a bit rich but this is an absolute critical learning skill for young people as they enter the workforce and ‘real life’.  For reasons I won’t expand on here, this wasn’t a cake walk year for Matt.  There were many trying moments where a different coach maybe could have given up on him and gone a different direction but Gavin never once did that and he stuck with Matt all season and even though they were ‘just’ extra points, the reality was kicking two extra points in the last 90 seconds against St. Clair when trying to come back from a 14-0 deficit in the provincial final was extremely nerve racking, especially when he’s had a few extra points blocked this season.  Nevertheless, he was successful and the team was successful and it produced an overall change in make-up for him that only being a part of a winning team can produce.  

10 – FIRST CLASS ORGANIZATION – Gavin’s communication with Matt and myself was top notch.  He owes me nothing and has a full-time job in addition to coaching 70 football players but he always took time out to shoot me a text about progress.  Guaranteed I’m not the only dad he’s doing that to and it’s part of what separates people like Gavin from other elite coaches.  I have no idea where he finds the time in each day to get everything done.  On American Thanksgiving, Gavin delivered a meal to Matt (as well as some other out-of-towners) and those are the little things that matter.  As a player, you WANT to do your best for yourself but also for any coach who shows how much he cares about you.  In addition, I can’t say enough about the organization.  Rob and Jen Annen are in charge of a program that has to be amongst the best in Canada and they should be extremely proud.  During a weekend bye, Rob and Jen invited a number of players over to their house for a barbecue to make them feel more welcomed and if I needed any information at all about non-football related things in London, they went above and beyond to help.  Perhaps the best compliment I can give to Gavin and the organization is this – they are very fair.  Even though the national final wasn’t the desired result, the season was highly successful and I just want to, publicly, say thank-you and share a little bit of how they do things in the hopes it rubs off on others as well as to show them what they do doesn’t go unnoticed.  It’s extremely appreciated.

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)