With the Stanley Cup having been won minutes ago by the Carolina Hurricanes, and with me having watched part of the game from my hotel in Quebec, days after having visited the winter Olympic sites of Lake Placid; it seems appropriate to write something about hockey, even though it’s mid June.

But rather than write my own stuff, I’d rather share the words of US Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks, who led the men’s team to a stunning upset win over the USSR and a gold medal at the 1980 games.

The old scoreboard in Lake Placid’s Olympic arena- proof that what Herb Brooks said is true.

I encountered these quotes at the Olympic Museum last week. They don’t need explaining. Here they are, straight off the Herb Brooks tribute wall where I saw them. Just read them and let them sink in…

  1. You win with people, not talent.
  2. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

Brooks used thoughts like these to mold a bunch of college kids into a team that beat the best in the world. They apply to life in general, not just hockey. That’s part of what makes sports so interesting.

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