The Insider Interview - Ron VogelA native of London, Ontario, Vogel and his family moved to Texas this spring. He assisted Brahmas Head Coach Dan Wildfong at Wildfong's annual hockey camp in July and has been a regular at the NYTEX Sports Centre throughout the Summer.
I spoke with Ron at the opening of the Making the Cut 2008 tryout camp.
Q: Were you at a point in your career where you were ready to hang up your skates and take on a position like this?
A: It was a tough decision to make, to call it a career. You know, I thought for my family it was the best move to make and it was a great opportunity to work alongside Dan and for a great organization. You don't get an opportunity like that every day and it was a tough one to pass up. I had a good career at this level and I felt that this was as far as I could go with that. I felt it was time to start helping younger players get that chance to move up.
Q: How long have you know Dan?
A: We've known each other for about 12 years. We worked hockey schools together when we were younger. I actually know him through some good friends and now Dan and and I are closer than some of our other friends. We've always kept in close contact. We ran a hockey camp here last summer and it's been great.
Q: Once it became known that Forbes MacPherson was leaving, how long did it take before you were contacted about the position?
A: I think once Dan found out, I was in town and I wasn't sure if I was going to play again or not. I didn't know if it was going to be here or somewhere else depending on what happened with their goaltending situation. When this came up, he contacted me right away. You've got to say yes to that, to work alongside Dan. He's a great coach. He had a great year last year. I knew how we'd get along. Our personalities are a little different but it's a good thing. It'll balance each other out. It's a great organization here. The Brahmas are coming back as a strong organization which is great for this community.
Q: The re-signing of Brett Jaeger and David Cacciola seem to give the Brahmas one of the best, if not the best goaltending tandem in the league. How do you feel about these guys?
A: It's going to be great. We've got two solid goaltenders. They both have experience and they're both great under pressure. It's going to be a great year. They're going to push each other to get better and you couldn't ask for a better situation.
Q: As a former goaltender, are you going to place a special emphasis on working with these two?
A: Yeah, there will be. Being a goaltender myself, I'll understand in different situations, what they're going to be feeling and how to handle them. That's definitely going to help out, especially with the rotation of two starting goalies. That experience will come in handy for me. I'll offer advice when it's needed. They're professional goaltenders, they know when they mess up and that kind of stuff but when we need to go over some things that we need to go over, it'll be helpful that I was a goaltender and that I know what they're going through.
Q: Dan is putting together another outstanding team for this season. He has a winning attitude and his goal is not to win a championship in a few years but to win a championship this year. Do you share that kind of drive?
A: Definitely. Why are we here, right? Ultimately you want to be a winner. You want to be known as a character guy and a winner. There's plenty of pieces of a puzzle that go together to build a championship team and we've got it started already. I definitely am competitive. My drive is there now as a coach. I want to win and I want to be successful and I want my players to be successful. It rubs off on everybody and it just helps everybody around you.
Q: The Brahmas fans will get to know you this year and of course you'll get to know them. What do you have to say to the fans about the upcoming season?
A: Well, our goal is to build a championship team with great players and all that, with character guys and a strong team unity. The fans are our backbone you know, they're our support and they keep the guys going. After the year they had last year, they had great support and I'm looking forward to that again. I'm really excited to meet a lot of fans face-to-face.
Photo Credit: Robert Keith
No comments:
Post a Comment