ross_berstein_hockey_journey_ep11.mp4_HD
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Ross: Hi
Lance: everyone. And welcome to the hockey journey
Ross: podcast.
Lance: Episode number 11, the Ross Bernstein hockey journey is not just to you by online hockey training.com. I'm your host coach Lance peddler. If you're new here, please make sure you subscribe. So you won't miss out on any future episode. Before we get this party started.
Lance: If you want to learn more about me, my hockey experiences, what I know, and most importantly, how we've been helping hockey players get really good with a stick and puck. Just head on over to online hockey training.com and gain instant access to my 10 part video series, where I'll show you everything considered my gift.
Lance: Everyone. I can't tell you how excited I am about my next guest on the hockey journey podcast. This individual is a best-selling author of nearly 50 sports books, a world renowned and award winning peak performance business speaker, whose keynoted conferences on all seven continents, which not many speakers at his level can say he's been featured on thousands of television and radio programs over the.
Lance: And has spent the better part of the past 25 years studying the DNA of championship teams, interviewing thousands of players and coaches, ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming a first-class human being, a good friend, Ross Bernstein to the show. Hi Ross, and welcome to the hockey journey podcast.
Ross: Oh my gosh. Pit. It is so great to see you. Thank you for having me on this is awesome to reconnect.
Lance: Well. Uh, I have two. Uh, start off by making an apology apology to you in preparing for this episode and doing some research on ya. I guess I knew very little about Ross Bernstein. It's not that, you know, last I checked.
Lance: Yeah. You wrote a couple books and that's where we ended for me, uh, deep in my own stuff. But as I got deeper into my investigation of you, man, you've put together a body of work. That's incredible. Congratulations.
Ross: Oh, man, that that means so much coming from you. Thank you. I know you were a couple of years ahead of me in school at the university of Minnesota, and you were one of the guys that looked up to so much and we've been able to connect here all these years later.
Ross: I've interviewed you for several, several of my books and you are just one of my all time. Favorite human beings. You are, you are, uh, just, I'm just so proud of you and your success and what you've done. And now with. Your legacy with your family and your kids and what they're doing and the business you've built with sweet hands and sweet hockey.
Ross: It's just, it's just all inspiring. So I am honored to be a guest on your podcast. And when you reached out to me, I was just giddy. I told my wife, I said, can you believe it? I'm going to be on a podcast with Pitt. This is about as cool as it gets.
Lance: Well, I think first, thank you for that. Uh, Uh, I'm, I'm new to this thing.
Lance: So I'm hoping that you can help me, uh, spike my ratings, but, uh, today it's not going to be about me, Ross. It's going to be about you. So, uh, before we get into some of your books that you've written, uh, to get things started, tell us about your childhood, where you grew up your introduction to hockey and other sports she played, I guess basically give us a snapshot of what it was like growing up roster.
Ross: Well, thank you. So I grew up in the booming metropolis of Fairmont Minnesota, a tiny little town, six miles from the Iowa border in the middle of nowhere, where I grew up loving sports. I, my earliest memories was, uh, playing sports. I love sports. I wasn't very good at sports, but I, I loved them. Uh, my hockey journey started to believe it or not when I was 10 and I watched the miracle on.
Ross: Rocked my world changed my world. I, I said, I begged my mom and dad, please let me play hockey. Now you got to understand some Southern Minnesota. Okay. This is wrestling country, basketball country. This isn't like Roseau Warroad international falls, where they. Pull the kids out of the rooms by their skate blades.
Ross: This is different. Okay. But I begged my parents to let me go to the herb Brooks hockey camp. He had a hockey camp that year. I went to the coast to coast hardware store. We got sticks and tape. We had red drive to Mankato the next big town to get all the stuff. And I got all the stuff and I, I got the Cooper alls, and I was out there and I was an ankle bender.
Ross: I could barely stand up. And I remember one day in practice, Herbie came up. He was larger than life. And he put his arm around me and he said way to go Ross. He knew my name cause it was written with tape on my head and he, and he actually gave me an award. And if a lot of your listeners know about sports, you know, there's all kinds of great awards you can get.
Ross: But I actually won the most improved. For the guy who sucks the most. And, uh, you know, that was me, but Southern Minnesota hockey, it was old school. We, we weren't like you rich caters to me, dining with your panties and is all right, where we grew up. We had shovels and we didn't have fancy buses driving us around.
Ross: We had vans and pickup trucks, all the farm kids had vans and you'd pile in. You have the chain smoking parents up front and the nuclear hockey equipment smell in the back. We'd pile in. And I want to becoming. As a freshman in high school, these starting left defenseman for the mighty Fairmont, Cardinal slash Domino's pizza hockey team.
Ross: We were, um, we were pretty bad Pitt. Our high school wouldn't even sponsor us. We were the pizza boys, which did not go over well, but you know, growing up in a small town, I got to play three varsity sports as a freshmen. And I look at our kids today, you know, specializing, just doing one thing and, and, you know, the day of being a well-rounded athlete, it.
Ross: Uh, hearkens to a better time. So I was lucky that I got to play a lot of different sports, you know, when it was football season up, but football, when it's baseball season by baseball and Hey, then I was excited to play hockey. So, uh, I played and then played, you know, I played high school and then I came to the U like you and I was an odd guys like you and the Hankinson brothers and all these amazing hockey players.
Ross: I got season tickets this in the late eighties. And then it turned out there was, there was a class you could take, it was called. Introduction to ice hockey, 1 0 1. This is the, you know, the underwater basket weaving class. You, you, varsity players took for your scholarships. So I took this class and for three days a week for one hour, I got to skate in Mariucci arena with actual real life go for occupiers.
Ross: It was amazing. And I wound up becoming friends with a bunch of guys on the team. I'd bring over, over to my fraternity parties and we'd drink beer. . And after a while, I got to know a bunch of guys and eventually a bunch of the guys said, you know, You're not that bad of a hockey player. Why don't you try out for the team?
Ross: Why don't you walk on? So I took this huge leap of faith and I walked on to play hockey at the university of Minnesota. And, uh, I gotta tell you, it was the thrill of a lifetime. That was a pylon out there, but I was out there and sure enough, my new buddies are passing me the puck. Now, after a while I'm out there and I'm thinking, you know what?
Ross: I gotta do something for the coaches to notice me something to, to, to just. To just have them say my name and put me potentially in the lineup. Right? I mean, I'm hoping to get June V time, anything. And, uh, one day in practice, an opportunity presents itself. When our team captain Todd Richards comes down, one-on-one it's aligned shift.
Ross: It's just me and Todd. And I said, this is it. We're right by the. I said, I'm going to take out our star player right in front of the coaches. They're going to have to put me in Atlanta. Right. I mean, it's like the first day of prison, you shake the biggest dude in the yard and day one. Right. That's just how it works.
Ross: You're going to have a very uncomfortable evening. So he sees me coming, he knows I'm in a nail and I got them all lined up, but it's like, he doesn't even embrace himself. I'm like, okay, dude, this is going to hurt. Now, Richard, on this particular practice he's wearing this really weird Jersey. It's all.
Ross: With a big red cross on the front and back, which I assumed only me one thing, bullseye. Right. So I lined him up. I leveled him. It's the greatest hit of my life, right in front of the Ruger, right in front of bill butters. Everyone's there. I'm thinking I'm going in. It's fuzzy from here. But I can tell you that after flying through the air backwards and literally coming to from being knocked unconscious, all I remember was waking up to bill butters for your listeners.
Ross: A former former gopher former north stars, goon a professional fighter, basically, uh, with one hand around my neck, the other, and a fist rag dolling me screaming. You idiot. What are you doing? Our team captains wearing a red cross Jersey today that means he's Injured. I'm sorry, coach. I had the pizza Jersey. I didn't get the memo.
Ross: Well, coach coach will come into his office as a kid. This is the end of the line and got to let you go. And now's the day. My dream of hoisting the Stanley cup died. I was devastated, but it turned out unbeknownst to me, there was another job opening on the team. Wasn't quite as sexy as all American defenseman, my first choice, but it was clear.
Ross: Team mascot, Goldie, the gopher two criteria for the job. You had to be a decent skater and a moron. I apparently that on both accounts and became a giant smelly rodent And that was it, man. I want to writing a book about that as a senior in college. My very first book, it was, it was called gopher hockey about a hockey gopher and.
Ross: The rest they say is history, nearly 50 sports books later. I somehow made a career out of it. So that's my crazy long story of how I got into the hockey world, uh, by taking on our star player. And here I am all these years later talking to one of my heroes, Lance pit, like go figure pinch me
Lance: that that is, uh, such a good story.
Lance: Um, I, I want to kind of go back to what you were talking about back in Fairmont. Uh, because times are different now and we're going to get back to your days at his goal. The, because there's a lot of really good stories there and, and, uh, that kind of started your, your book journey, but, uh, you know, you, you have a daughter, I believe she's a competitive soccer player, uh, in the arts also.
Lance: That's a passion of hers. Uh, so you know how things have changed since we were kids. I it's just there's you don't see the multi-sport athlete. You might be the last multi-sport athletes.
Ross: I think Joe Mauer did. Okay.
Lance: But I mean, what, what do you think, uh, you know, you've interviewed a lot of, uh, a lot of professional players and coaches and.
Lance: You know, is that, is that kind of the route that someone has to go nowadays to even have a chance to get an opportunity at the higher levels?
Ross: You know, it's so hard because you know, all the coaches say they want kids to be well-rounded, but then they expect them to be on the triple, a traveling teams.
Ross: They expect them to be at all the summer camps. They expect them to do all these things. Or you're just as a parent, you're a horrible parent. I mean, I have my, I mean, my, my kid was in competitive soccer and it was like, If you didn't, if you didn't tow the line, you, you know, you were an outcast, right. So it was, it was challenging.
Ross: And, you know, I just, I was lucky. I grew up in a small town and we, we needed a warm bodies, you know, that's just how it was. And honestly, when it was, we didn't have an arena, we played outdoors. So I mean, it wasn't like I was going to be skating all summer. We didn't have ice. Literally I had to drive to Mankato or new Orleans.
Ross: Wyndham had a rank or we'd, you know, we'd go to the cities and we we'd play hockey. So it was summer. I was playing American Legion, baseball and VFW baseball, and we just did other things. And I don't know if it was right or wrong, but, you know, I can tell you, um, you know, today I serve as the president of the, her Brooks foundation.
Ross: And I can tell you that our mission is to, to grow the game and get more kids playing and what we call structured, unstructured ice hockey, uh, where they're just playing. They're just having fun. There's no parents, there's no coaches. It's just kids out, you know, like little kids having fun. I mean that, you know, her Brooks used to always say, His dream team would have been a team of orphans, no parents screwing things up.
Ross: Right. And I'm sure you can relate these days with everything you're doing, but, you know, I, I don't, I don't know if it's right or wrong. I know that we're producing more top end talent than ever before. Because we've got such a great infrastructure and we've got people like you, who were former NHL players who chose to live here, raise their kids here and, you know, have these aftermarket programs where you can hone your skills and you can get better.
Ross: And, and you can. You can really learn so much. I mean, we all have our, you know, it's like Indiana basketball or Texas football or Iowa wrestling, right? I mean, this is, this is the birthplace. All the players live here. They want their kids to Excel. So, um, you know, I just look at it. I just figure, I'm lucky that I had the childhood that I had.
Ross: I wasn't very good at anything, but I love sports and I'm like you pit I'm lucky that I was able to find a way to make my career doing what I'm really passionate about and that's, and that's, you know, luckily being in the world.
Lance: No, it's so true. So true. So one thing you know, that you talk about, uh, you know, the, the coaching and, you know, there's a lot of different, uh, things available to players.
Lance: Nowadays. One shift that happened for me was when like YouTube became mainstream and being able to, to access information and to really research, uh, anyone from all over the. Uh, in, in your journey, how did that help, you know, when you started getting into the, to the book business, was that, uh, still calling people or was the internet, you know, kind of where it was now?
Ross: You know, it's weird. I was kind of on that bubble. I really, you know, I didn't probably fully embrace it as a researcher. I did. And certainly YouTube was great for while. Plays or doing different things and, and transcribing interviews, you know, but you know, I'm, I'm coming, I'm kinda old school. I still really relish and enjoy interviewing athletes.
Ross: And you know, I'm a member of the media, so I get press pass access, but you never get a good interview, just holding a camera or a microphone and a guy's face. You know, they give you the old bull Durham answers, you know, get pucks deep. We're going to take it one game at a time. You know, you don't get anything good.
Ross: So I always loved. Getting cell numbers and calling guys, and really the way you would get those cell numbers was by, you know, giving away lots of books and being in all the golf tournaments and building relationships organically, authentically. Asking for a cell phone or saying, Hey, Pitt, would you give me so-and-so's number?
Ross: Would you vouch for me? Sure. And then you get a guy and they go, Hey, I got, I got 20 minutes. I'm on the way to the airport. Well, how can I help you? And then you ask them a question. Now they're going to settle in, and then they're going to share a really good story. And you know, I'm a storyteller and that's , but I'm not the hero of my own story.
Ross: I like sharing other people's stories. So when I can celebrate. You know, great athletes and their, their journey like you're doing now as a journalist. Now you're sharing stories. I love that. So, you know, social media was, um, but it is amazing, man. The playing field has been leveled, you know, kids today.
Ross: They'll they'll, you know, you'll see a kid who's. Face-off artists is like, yeah, I just watched YouTube or, or Justin Bieber. He didn't need a record label to become famous. He needed YouTube. You know, I look back, you know, I, I had two brothers that graduated from the U, went on to get their Ivy league MBAs.
Ross: This is what my parents wanted me to do. And I said, I want to use my graduate school money to write and publish a book. I had to leverage my future. Literally all my, you know, I had no, no fallback. Right. I look at kids. Now, they go, oh, you know, I want to be, I want to do it. You do it. I'm like, are you kidding me?
Ross: There's no cost to entry. You can create a podcast. You can have a, uh, a video TV series on Vimeo or YouTube. You can, you can do anything. You can create a PDF and write books and go to Amazon and create eBooks. I mean, none of those things were available and you and I were around. So it's a totally different.
Ross: Yeah, no, it
Lance: is. Uh, and it's a fun world, you know, I, I really. I, I love to learn, but you know, when you're producing content and you know, you gotta learn a new video producing thing or uploading to a different server. It's hard. So, all right, let's go back. You talked about, uh, writing a book first, where you going to school for journalism or for writing at all?
Lance: And then how did the, how did the actual book deal come into play? Was that you were.
Ross: Well, so interestingly, so after, um, I was Goldie for a few years back at the old bar back when the collective blood alcohol level, and there was about 14. So I got into a lot of trouble as a mischievous mascot. In fact, I got into so much trouble that after a game, one night as a senior, a publisher approached me and he said, Hey kid, we've been watching you.
Ross: We want to write a book. About all the trouble you've gotten into. As I like to say, apparently it's not appropriate to throw craft cheese singles at the Wisconsin cheese heads. Right. I said, look, I'm flattered. But other than my grandmother, I don't know who was going to want to read your book, but that kind of spawned the idea.
Ross: I said, okay, Maybe I could write a book about this, not from my perspective, but from Goldie's perspective. And that's when I called my mom and dad and said, Hey, I want to use my money to write and publish a book. And I remember, I remember the words, failure, disappointment, a lot of four-letter words, they were furious.
Ross: They said, this is going to be a huge mistake. You're going to fail, but this is what I wanted to do. Luckily, they let me do it. And the book became a bestseller. I think I did five, six printings of the book. I was doing book signings at the mall of America, which had just opened. I was doing TV interviews, radio interviews, companies, CEOs would see me on TV.
Ross: They were laughing and they'd say, Hey, we have a conference. Come talk to our company. Tell us what you learned from all these hockey players will pay. I'm like, are you kidding me? You'll pay me to talk. This is crazy. And I remember, you know, but after about the third printing, I got a phone call from my old man.
Ross: And he's, he's no longer with us, but it's a call. I never forgot. And he said, Hey, I'm proud of you. Everybody thought you were going to fail myself included. But then he told me something, I never forgot Pitt. He said, I know you want to work in sports, but there's no jobs. You know, you're not, you're not a former athlete.
Ross: You're not the son of the owner of a team. He said, you got lucky with this first book, but these first, but these books, they have a shelf life of about one year. You know, you're gonna have to reinvent yourself every year. But he said, he said, this is really what you want to do. He said, if this is your passion, he said, follow your dream.
Ross: He said, I'll support you, but only if you follow your dream, he said, follow your dream. Otherwise you're going to spend the rest of your damn life working for somebody else who did. And I never forgot that. And I did, and I've always been on my own. I've never, never worked for someone. I've always been the CEO and the janitor of my business.
Ross: And, and, uh, I never forgot that. So I've, I've been very lucky and, and I've built my business on the backs of amazing humans. Like you who are generous enough to let me interview them. So this is a cool, full circle moment for me because, uh, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm very humbled right now being, being on your podcast.
Lance: That messaging is this so powerful and it's amazing, you know, when you get into your forties and fifties and you know, there's parts of your life that you don't think about when you have kids and you know, when you go revisit, if you go back in time, there there's always some individual that has said something to you that, you know, changed your trajectory in a positive way.
Lance: Uh, I've had several, uh, through the years. You know, so I guess that's what we try to do now is to hopefully affect someone else that's younger than it has been in the same, in the same manner.
Ross: Um, we call it, we call those defining moments, right? We call it and for the good ones, they define us. And for the bad ones, we call those chip on our shoulders.
Ross: You know, I talk about Tom Brady in my, in my, in my presentation. I talk about how he wanted to be a first round pick, but he wanted to becoming the last pick of the six round. So he uses that as. Every team, every time he plays one of those teams who 31 teams who passed them over six times, he says, I wasn't good enough for you.
Ross: That's a great athletes. Do they have to channel those bits of negativity? They channel those naysayers and those people that doubted them. And those, those are the great ones that's as a journalist, I love studying what it is that makes the great ones great. And translating that back to business for peak performance.
Ross: And I love when I hear what you said, a defining moment, you know, and I love, I love the fact about you. Is that in college, no one worked harder than you. And no one was more of a, there was not one more feared, open eyes hitter than Lance Pitt. Like you were the best you were the best. Everyone people came to games to see you light someone up and to see you years later, where the sea for the Ottawa senators.
Ross: And I remember I interviewed you for my book called wearing the sea and it was. Awesome. And it was based, it was based purely out of respect and leadership. You didn't, you know, you, weren't going to be a 50 goal score, but you, you just provided value to your team and teammates and so many other ways. And I love that about you.
Ross: You were such a grinder and you carved out such a great career and you did it on your terms. And I just, I just think that's about the coolest thing ever.
Lance: Well, thank you. Um, We only have our, our body of work or word, uh, that can really represent us. And, you know, I, I was never like you was given, you know, wasn't spoonfed or anything.
Lance: He had to go out and work for 11 and get what you wanted. But, uh, you know, again, we, we've both been influenced and mentored by some pretty cool hockey people. Uh, one that I'd like to transition to now, And to a couple other books that you wrote, uh, starting with the two that you authored on legendary hockey coach, Herbie Brooks.
Lance: Um, talk about that a little bit. How did you meet Mr. Brooks? When did the book talks start and what was it like getting to know this hockey icon? Cause I'm sure it was like, not out of this.
Ross: Yeah, totally surreal. Well, I met him when, uh, when he gave me the most improved award, right when I was 10, but it was really a full circle affair.
Ross: Interestingly, one of the first phone calls I got literally the first week I started that book and I made, I made it known. I started to talking to, you know, some of the coaches, you know, Woolgar and, and some of the guys and, and word got out. And one of the first phone calls I got out of the blue serendipitously, what are some Herbie?
Ross: And he was coaching in the national hockey league at the time. He said the New Jersey organization and he called me and he said, Ross, I heard about your book. And he said, I want in, he said, he said, this book is going to be good for hockey and I want to help you. And it, it, it was, you talk about defining moments in your life.
Ross: That moment changed my life and we got together. He was, he said, I'll be home in a few weeks. Let's get. I didn't know what to expect at that. Maybe it's signed autograph, a pat me on the butt, but he told me that his passion was to grow the game. And he told me that even though he liked the fact that even though I wasn't good enough to play golf for hockey, that I was still wanting to be a part of the team.
Ross: And then I still want to be a cheerleader and be Goldie and hang out with the guys and help the team and entertain the fans between the periods. And he loved that. Cause he'd still come to games and he'd, he'd watch the Schick and, and, and he, you know, that was, you know, back at the old brown and there was no video screen there.
Ross: Halftime in between period entertainment. It was this golfer up on this perch below the scoreboard, entertaining drunk fans, whether it, you know, with a bunch of toys, it was craziness. And he just, you know, I think he saw me a young go-getter who wasn't going to change your world as an athlete, but maybe as a journalist.
Ross: And, you know, he explained to me. You know, years earlier, he drove three hours through a blizzard, all the way to Fairmont my hometown to start a youth hockey program. He told me, he said, Ross, if you really believe in something, you got to get in your car, you got to go meet people face to face, and you gotta be able to explain the differentiators about why your product is better than the other guy's product.
Ross: Go down there and tell those parents, kids shouldn't be playing basketball. They should be playing hockey. He said, give them the tools, help them, and then be at. He said the wider, we build the base of this pyramid, the higher we can go. And then he called, he reached out and he called Lou nanny and near Brighton and Glen sawn Moore.
Ross: And he said, Hey, get together with my buddy Ross. He's going to write this book. It's going to be good for hockey. And lo and behold, that was my first book. It was called gopher hockey by the hockey gopher and, and, uh, you know, launch my career. And over the years I'd interview him. And, and years later, herb called me one day and he said, you know, I'm ready to write that book and guess what?
Ross: You're gonna. And it was like the voice of God. It was unbelievable. And I'll tell you that the story, you know, I got to spend a must a year working on that book with her and, um, flash forward to the weekend of August 11th, 2003, herb and I were up at the hockey hall of fame golf tournament in Babak at Giant's Ridge up in the iron range.
Ross: And Herbie had to leave early that day. He had a speaking engagement with a big pharmaceutical company in Chicago. So he had to leave about the 11th. And, uh, everyone said their goodbyes. And then I remember driving home that day and I was excited or book was almost done and it was going to be a game changer for me.
Ross: I was going to be on the speaking circuit with her Brooks. I mean, this is going to be huge deal for me. And I remember turning on the radio, settling in for that three hour ride home. And I heard the news herb didn't make it. He was killed in a car accident, driving home that day. If you're a hockey fan, you remember that moment?
Ross: That was, that was you remember where you were? And I remember pulling over and crying. Thinking, what can I do? Because this guy really inspired me. And then I remember driving home for the next three hours, listening to his people called in on a radio. And they talked about, about how hockey had changed their lives, about how a hockey game in 1980 had changed them and how hockey had been woven throughout the fabric of their community and how it had changed their lives.
Ross: And eventually I remember coming upon the crash site up in forest lake 35 and 35 E and I saw someone had erected across a two hockey sticks in a gopher Jersey, and I, I kind of lost it and I thought. So that's when I decided to turn our book into a Memorial and I cried, I wrote my first book called remembering Herbie, and I helped to create the, her books foundation with his family, with Danny and Kelly and, and, and I donated proceeds from the book.
Ross: And now I donate all proceeds of all my books from this wonderful organization. I've since written another book called America's coach and, and. If you saw the movie miracle, uh, you know, it's just her died during the making of the movie. And I remember the producers of Disney came to me and they said, what can we use from your book in the movie?
Ross: And I remember I had asked her be prophetically about his legacy. And he said, he said, the name on the front of the Jersey was always more important than the name of. It was always weighing us, never IME, and it was cool. They use that line in the movie and it's just, you know, I'm just blessed. I get to share his legacy now.
Ross: And, you know, I've, I, I speak all over the world and, and tell companies about her being his legacy and about how he pulled off the greatest upset in American sports history. And, and it's just, I feel very humbled. I get to talk about all these great people and, uh, I have to pinch myself cause I, I get to.
Ross: You know, like you, I get to work in sports and not a day goes by where I don't think about her being. And, uh, it's hard to believe it's, you know, 2003 was almost 20 years ago, but I remember that day, like it was yesterday. Yeah, it
Lance: does. I mean, I, I go there, uh, every time I go to my cabin to Wisconsin, we go on that inner interchange there and, you know, I give them a wave or say hi, right by.
Lance: Uh, it's interesting. Now, what do you say? Because that's so consistent with the people that I've talked to over the years regarding him is that he'll always be remembered as the coach of the 80 team, but what was really his true passion is what you said is drawing the game, uh, growing the experiences, getting more kids involved in this great sport.
Lance: Uh, he was all over the place. Just like you.
Ross: I mean, pit you and I would not be doing what we're doing without Herbie. I mean, we have six division, one schools in Minnesota. Thank you. Her books. We have hockey in North Carolina and Texas and Florida and California. Thank you. Her Brooks, without the miracle on ice happening.
Ross: A lot of these things just don't exist. And the fact that you can have a business, you know, coaching kids doing this or that I could write books about hockey in this community is because of people like Herbie, who are so passionate about it, but it, you know, it was amazing getting to know. I interviewed hundreds of people, a family members, neighbors, Herbie was passionate about gardening.
Ross: He was passionate about, you know, so many other things in life and, and, uh, he was consumed with hockey, but he really did want to grow the game. You know, he was, you know, his legacy. Isn't just that, I mean, he changed conditioning, you know, he, you know, he bringing in guys like Jack blather and, and, and specialists, you know, he would, he would have loved a guy like you, who could teach players to specialize in making saucer passes and doing certain things.
Ross: Right. I mean, you know, back when he took over the New York Rangers, a lot of people don't realize this, but he was, you know, he, he achieved such success and his teams, you know, back when he coached the gophers, he could pick it up. With the Rangers, he couldn't pick them. The general manager picked them and they, his teams were called the Smurfs because there were these little blue guys, right.
Ross: And they were playing against the big, bad Bruins and the Islanders and, and Philly. And there's really tough teams. And they had great success and Herbie had to reinvent himself. You know, he had to, he created, you know, dry land training and off season training. These things didn't exist in the early eighties.
Ross: He just kept finding new ways to, to be successful. He, he burned a lot of bridges. People remember after coaching the U S Olympic team here, he had a lot of choice words for USA hockey. They pissed him off. So he coached team France. And guess what? They beat the Americans. A lot of people that remember this, right.
Ross: But her being, you know, liar, he just, he just did things his own way. And, and. You know, thank God we had people like, like Herbie and now we've got, you know, guys like Lou Nanni and, you know, we lost Glen sophomore. We had guys like John Mariucci and, you know, I was just so privileged to Chronicle these people.
Ross: I've written, you know, so many different books about hockey history and the history of Minnesota. And, uh, you know, it's just cool iron range, hockey, Evelyn, you know, just, it's just the roots. Go, go back so deep. And I, I just feel very privileged to be able to share this history and, and to keep it alive.
Ross: Yeah,
Lance: no. For for doing that because, uh, if you wouldn't, a lot of that would have been lost. So very much appreciated. Did you ever in your conversations with Herbie ever ask him what he wanted to be remembered for?
Ross: He, you know, he was just, he was very humble. He would always turn questions like that and, uh, you know, into something about the team and, uh, you know, I, I think, you know, the movie miracle got it.
Ross: Right. First of all, they had. Hockey players. They could teach to act versus actors. They could teach to play hockey and hockey purists appreciate that. But really in the movie they got it right. I mean her, you know, and when they beat the Russians or when they beat the fins to, to win gold and the 80 Olympics herb took off it wasn't about him.
Ross: His job was done. Mission accomplished. You know, he, he kind of brought these Minnesota kids and Massachusetts two kids together by creating one common enemy. You know, and, uh, he was willing to fall on the sword to do it. He said, this is the only way we're going to beat these guys. And they were never going to, you know, he, he knew they didn't have the talent the Russians did, but he knew they weren't going to be outworked.
Ross: And they were going to be, they were going to keep up with them in the third period. And, and, and as you know, that's, that's what sports is about at this level. When you get to that top level. Sure. You've got the outliers. You've got Wayne Gretzky, and you've got Michael Jordan. You got those real elite free.
Ross: But by and large, 90% of the athletes are all the same. They've all got the same athletic ability. They run the same 40 time. They can lift the same amount of weights. It comes down to these intangible qualities of how bad you want it. And quite frankly, how in shape you are. And Herbie said, we're going to be the greatest physically conditioned team in the world.
Ross: And if we can just hang with them to the third period we got. And I, you know, I think that was a big part of his legacy was just proving him wrong and really proving his old man wrong. The defining moment for her books, his life came back in 1960 when the first miracle on ice happened when team USA beat the Czechs in Squaw valley, California, uh, in 1962, when the first Olympic gold medal and her books, uh, as a lot of people know, maybe a lot of other people listeners don't know.
Ross: It was the last guy cut from that team. And when he, when herb and his dad, herb senior crusty old, you know, hockey coach from the east side of St. Paul are watching that game. One of the first televised games in American sports history, 1960 in their basement at their home along Payne avenue. Her Brooks senior looked to his son and he said, looks like coach Riley, cut the right.
Ross: Oh, that was a defining moment in Herbie's life. He spent the next 10 years playing it. Every us national team, both us Olympic teams and 64 and 68 in Innsbrook and Grenoble. And he studied the Russians and the Swedes and the Norwegians and the Canadians. And he, he came up with his own hybrid style. This creative.
Ross: Uh, artistic, beautiful weave. It was the, it was the dumping chase clutch and grab north American Canadian rough and tough style. Cause back in the day they didn't wear a face mask and they had to be tough, but it was this beautiful creative imaginative system that he put in and it was a hybrid and it changed hockey.
Ross: He made hockey beautiful. It was creative. And a lot of people don't give them credit for that. But that's how herb wanted to be remembered was for creating his own hybrid style that really took off. And we take it for granted now. But, but it was very different and it was radical back in the day. And it
Lance: was that it was well, again, uh, really grateful that you were able to Chronicle all those moments in his life and then share with everyone.
Lance: Uh, what I'd like to do now is to, here's some stories that you uncovered when writing, wearing the sea and were, uh, raising stamp. Uh, what were some of the trends, patterns or common denominators you discovered during your interviews with these players and coaches?
Ross: No. Great question. Well, those were fun books and I interviewed, you know, probably 500.
Ross: NHL captains and NHL Stanley cup champions. And it was amazing, you know, talking to guys like Joe Sakic and Wayne Gretzky, and it's Dino Chara and, you know, uh, Bobby Clark and, uh, Steve Eiserman and I mean, it was, I was, I'm a kid from Fairmont. I had posters of these people on my walls. I mean, I had full-blown stage five men crushes on Wayne Gretzky and Joe Sakic.
Ross: So it was, it was cool. You know, I, I think wearing the C was interesting, um, you know, getting everyone's taken how they lead, why they lead, whether they were lead by example guy, a quiet rah guy, or if they were more of a, a cheerleader, uh, it was fascinating interviewing guys like Glenn some or, you know, Glenn used to talk about how he chose captains for all the teams.
Ross: He, that he coached, you know, the north stars you'll fighting saints and the wha and he would always say, you know, I'd let the players vote. But then I counted the votes, meaning, you know, he wanted his guy in there and you know, you look at a team, a young team, you know, a Chicago making Patrick Kane, their captain when they're just a young rookie or keeping into an old seasoned veteran.
Ross: You know, I like to say, you know, and I w I wrote, you know, these series of books about all different sports, but one of my favorite guys was Harmon. Killebrew middle, you know, the Minnesota twins. And I got to know Harmon and Harmon used to say, We had captains, but, but he was the captain in practice. He didn't want us to see in as Jersey, but make no mistake.
Ross: If you didn't work hard enough, you were going to feel it. You know, Harmon was the captain that are road trips, making sure guys got in before curfew. And, and that, that's the thing. Oh, there's the captain who guys who where's the sea, but then we know who the real captain is like, right? Like that was the guy in practice.
Ross: So it was, it was just fascinating. You know, the books weren't about me at all. I was the narrator, the purveyor of these long interviews where, you know, and now, you know, condense these sort of nuggets of wisdom, these million-dollar ideas down to a few paragraphs. So people get sort of digest them easily, but it was a thrill.
Ross: And I'll tell you. Uh, Joe Sakic hired me to come speak to the avalanche, which was really cool. And, um, it was kinda new Kenneth Gabriel and God read the book and loved it and said, we can bring this guy to come talk to our team retreat and I'll tell you what penalty a great story. So I'm negotiating.
Ross: Patrick was the head coach, Joe sack X, the GM, they call me we're negotiating my contract. I would have done it for free. Had they known and we get to a number and I'm like, okay, we're close to them. I'm a negotiator. We're close to the number. I'll tell you what, this was, what to get me over the top. I would have said yes, either way, but I said, here's the deal.
Ross: I said, I said the way it was going to work, they had their team retreat. They had their last game at the Pepsi center in Denver. Then they make their final cuts and they're all taken a bus up to Vail two day retreat. They get Navy seals one day and they got Ross Bernstein the next day, pinch myself.
Ross: Right. And I said, okay, look, it's your last preseason game. You guys pretty much know how it's going to go down. Okay. What if I sign a one day contract, you know, like those sick, dying kids, one day contract, and I get to play a one shift, your last shift in that last game. And I'll be like Moonlight, Graham.
Ross: I'll get to play one game in the show. Right? Joe's like, you know, I'd have to talk to legal, but you'd probably have to sign a waiver. I'm like, oh my God, this is happening. And then Patrick was says, no effing way. He says, if I send you out there, I'm going to have the other guy's heavyweight come clean you up.
Ross: I said, Patrick, I'm cool with that for 30 seconds, I can run around and I'll take a beating. I'll be a YouTube sensation. Be amazing. Well, sadly legal didn't approve it. And I didn't get my wish, but I really had one shift in the shell pet. It would have been amazing, but the moral of the story is you, you got to ask her, you don't get so I've, I've been able to meet some pretty cool people along the way.
Ross: For sure.
Lance: Yeah. Isn't that the truth, the worst they can say is no, that's right. That's right. What's crazy. Is that my last year plan in the NHL was in Colorado. I didn't make it out of training camp, but Patrick was Joel sack, Joel and fours, or Peter fours. Well, Adam, um, it was Rob Blake. It w it was incredible that, and what was crazy about that team?
Lance: You know, you're talking about leaders and some aren't wearing the C, but that core group of players were the hardest working group in any team I've ever been on. I mean, they set the tempo, every practice, and you were just trying to keep up. So. There's different levels in different styles. Like you said, of people who were the, the, the C or an a, or whatever, uh, one that you got to interview extensively, uh, over a period of time was Wayne Gretzky.
Lance: How uncommon was that guy compared to the rest of the.
Ross: Well, I'm still in awe of Wayne. I mean, as a kid, I mean, my nickname in Fairmont was Gretzky. Not because I was good, but because I was so passionate about hockey and just, that's the only guy they knew, but, uh, I'm lucky. Wayne's written forwards for a couple of my books.
Ross: I did biographies of bill Clement and a year old teammate, Robbie stopper. And I got to know him. I've interviewed him many times and there couldn't be a more humble salt of the earth, you know? Dude, right. I mean, that's the thing, like I interviewed athletes in all sports bragging. Hockey players are just the most genuine, authentic people.
Ross: When hockey players get rich, they buy pickups and fishing boats that don't have posses. They don't, you know, they don't th these guys aren't, you know, penniless after five years of retirement, they, they, they, they're very humble. And I think, you know, there's, there's an honor code that keeps the people, you know, humble as you, I wrote a book about the code about these unwritten rules, and that's a big part of it.
Ross: You don't. You don't live too, too big. You don't, you don't show anyone up. And, uh, I think Wayne epitomizes that he was just a, a quality human. And I remember, you know, interestingly I wrote this book called the code about fighting and hockey, and it was, it was turned into a movie with an academy award winning director.
Ross: And, and one of the guys who wrote the forward was Marty McSorley. And Marty, of course, for the Evans brothers was Wayne's bodyguard. When. Was traded to LA was a package deal. Marty comes with, and, you know, I interviewed a lot of those old heavyweights, Dave Sanko and if anyone looks cross-eyed at Gretzky, they were going to get it.
Ross: But interestingly, one of the Gretzky's only fight. Was it Neil Brotton. And of course I had a man crush on Neil Bratton too, but you know, the code says, lightweights fight lightweights. So, you know, if a heavyweight or a middleweight tried to jump lane, they were going to get killed by one of those guys.
Ross: But if Neil wants to fight him, they got to let them go. Right. And, uh, it, it, it was, it was a pretty, you can YouTube, but it's pretty funny to watch the two of them go at it. But, uh, uh, needless to say, All of Neil's teammates were very mad at him because they said that some Minko McSorley were all coming after every one of them afterwards, just to, just to remind them that the, no one touches a Wayne,
Lance: oh man, the game has changed since then.
Lance: Hasn't it? Uh, big time, you know, that that role is no longer around. Uh, but it was so critical for soldiers.
Ross: Well, and I'll tell you what before. I just want to say, you know, you, I think, I think guys, like you really changed the game because pet you once the rules change after the lockout. They realized that you really can't just have a one dimensional Derek Boogaard and I was, I was, I was, I did a bit about AgriFood Boogaard you can't have a one-dimensional guy like that.
Ross: That is purely a heavyweight, you know, a lumbering snuffle off a guest who comes off the bench for two minutes. It just, it can't happen. You need a fourth liner, an agitator and instigator, uh, a penalty killer, a shot blocker. You need not a T-Rex but of Alaska velociraptor. And that was you P you were admitted.
Ross: And you could score goals. You could grind, you could hit, but you weren't afraid to drop them and end up protect your teammates either. And that's why you were so respected. It was because you didn't get a guy and you knew you had to keep your head on a swivel and they were coming after you. But you know what?
Ross: A lot of guys wouldn't make a run at you because they knew how tough you are and you know, what's even more cool about that is your color. And that was unique. A lot of college kids didn't want that role. They weren't willing to take it. You embraced it. And, uh, it was amazing. And you were rewarded, you know, and, and you look at the guys, not a lot of guys who are willing to take that role, but that's, that's the new wave of the NHL today.
Ross: You, you can't. You know, there's, there's no time for fighting. I mean, those spur of the moment, you know, in the moment, if a guy does something dirty, that then it's, they're going to drop them. But the line fights, the bench clears those days are gone. The traditional one way, you know, Ty Domiz and of the world, those guys don't exist anymore.
Ross: It's it's a new game. I'm okay with that. I think it's a better game. We always talk about how great the Olympics are, the world cup. I still think it has a place in hockey, the game polices itself, which is good. There is an honor code that you have to live by. And, and, uh, if you don't, the, the laws of karma are gonna say, you're going to lose some teeth, but, uh, I, I think the way you played the game pit was the right way.
Ross: And you were one of the most respected players of your era bar. None.
Lance: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. You know, it's interesting because. I had a, you know, uh, always had a, a really close friendship with the toughest guy on our team because a, I wasn't very good at fighting, but me, I knew that, you know, we needed to work together and there would be times where the fighter like Peter Warrell that I played with down in Florida, you know, he wasn't getting much ice time, the first couple of periods and he was up and I was up and he says, pet nothing's going on?
Lance: Blow someone up and just get out of the way. Uh, so it's, uh, I, I, you know, at the time it, you didn't know any different, but now when you see what today's game looks like, uh, the depth of the lineup, the plays that are consistently being made, uh, I, I think it's a definite improvement.
Ross: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, I remember, uh, one of our good mutual friends, Tommy Chersky shared a story in that book about how he was a rookie playing with Montreal.
Ross: And, uh, he wanted to show his teammates that he could hang and he got into a fight. And afterwards in the locker room, the team heavyweight almost beat the crap out of Tom. He said, that's fine. You said, I don't want you doing my job. He said, if P teams know you're undisciplined and you're going to drop the mints, they're just going to keep running around and, and I'm not going to, you're going to make my job very difficult.
Ross: So it's a fascinating hierarchy of how this honor code works. And I was, you know, it's interesting, pat, I was watching your video on your website, which is, which is amazing. And your highlight reel with the, with the, the bone crunching music. One of the guys you hit in the video is Todd. And interestingly Todd was, he wasn't necessarily a fighter.
Ross: He was kind of a middleweight. He he'd scrap. But I remember the reason I wrote that book, the code was because I remember hearing a story about how Burt twosie broke the code and how he had hit a guy from behind. And I wanted to know why. And I started asking the players and it was one of these things where I said, no one talks about that.
Ross: It was an, they truly were the unspoken unwritten rules, but because. I was a player. I was, I could, you know, I knew all the guys I was in the inside that maybe were other journalists weren't they were able to give me a really unique insights. And when that book came out, it was a huge, best seller because it really peeled back a curtain into something where people wonder, why does this exist?
Ross: And certainly for the kids listening, we don't, we aren't endorsed, fighting for hockey, but the old school way of hockey, it was a big part of the game. And interestingly, they had not been for time for twosie. On that hit, I never would have learned about, or even written about the code, which was a big game changer in my career because that launched a lot of future books with some big national publishers for me.
Ross: And, and, and even, even today, as, as a speaker, you know, I, I keynote about, uh, you know, almost 150 conferences a year. My program is called the champions code, and it's about winning with integrity because that's what the code is. It's about playing the game the right way. There's a fine line between cheating and gamesmanship in sports.
Ross: And if, you know, you can get away with diving in hockey, you can get away with an illegal curb stick. You, you can do all sorts of stuff, but if. Do something dirty. If you disrespect a guy, if you turtle, if you tape's cheap shot, if you hit a take liberties, a smaller player, the honor code says, you must be held accountable.
Ross: And that's why as professionals, they don't wear face masks because you can't hide behind that mask. You must be accountable. That's what the golden rule says. And that that's fascinating. Cause I'll tell you what. If the, if the football players today didn't wear a face mask, you wouldn't see a five, eight cornerback dancing, taunting a guy after lightened them up at the end zone.
Ross: He'd get killed.
Lance: Isn't that the truth? Isn't that Judith? Well, I know that, uh, we're not going to have time to get into, uh, what's. Your true passion is now, which is a, your keynote speaking. Uh, you're all over the world. You're heading to Cabo tomorrow. I don't want to keep you too long to, you know, get ready for that trip.
Lance: But one more question. Uh, I get in front and I have been, I've been getting in front of a lot of really passionate hockey players, both boys and girls who are striving to achieve some lofty goals. So from what you've learned from those thousand interviews with highly successful hockey players, What's some advice you can provide some aspiring young student athletes to help them along in their journey where they're at right now or early on.
Ross: That's awesome. Thank you. Yeah. You know, I think for starters, I think, you know, aligning with people like you and the values that you bring is a pretty good start. If you're a parent, um, I know I'd want my kid learning from the best, but I think that, uh, you said it, you said a key word in there. Student athlete, do goodness.
Ross: That's your first priority, be a student. And when you're a good student, that leads to a lot of other things and study the game, watch YouTube, watch the games, have fun, get involved, play other sports, be a well rounded human being, you know, learn how to throw and catch a ball. Don't just learn how to toe drag, you know, learn other things.
Ross: Uh, saucer passes are really important and no one better than picking, teach you how to do them and how to be a sniper. But B you know, the thing is you got to own your own. You know, you, you, you look at a guy like bill Clement, who became the, you know, one of the best face-off men in the business, or you, or you look at certain players and how they'll, they'll learn certain attributes of the game.
Ross: And that's what it's about. It's about not necessarily specializing, but becoming really good so that you, the coaches can't say no to you. They're going to always find a spot in the lineup for you, even if you're not the best player, there's always going to be someone bigger, faster, stronger than you, but.
Ross: But I think th th the key is what we teach at the, her books foundation is for kids to have fun, to play the game the right way, with respect, to respect the game and, you know, to really work hard and be a grinder, you know, be the first guy there, be the last guy to leave. It's the little things, you know, uh, if you're the captain, that means, you know, I talk about Wayne Gretzky in my program about being a giver about.
Ross: You know, Wayne was the NHLs all-time leader in goals, and he was the old time leader in assists, but he had twice as many assists and goals. And when I met, when I asked him about that, he said a goal made one guy happy, but an assist made two guys happy. Wayne was a giver and he loved helping his teammates and he would never throw his teammates under the bus.
Ross: He understood as the team's leader was his job to help make them. So, you know what help make your teammates better? And the coaches will notice you and the cream will rise to the top. So I I'm so proud to live in Minnesota where it is a state of hockey. We have all this hockey, but as the wildlife.
Ross: There's a lot of other hockey around here. And if you're not producing and doing well, people have options. So, you know, I hope kids can rise up to that next level, whatever that is and keep playing the game. And now I play old man, barely hockey. I love it still it's I, I feel like I'm better now Pitt at, in my fifties.
Ross: And I wasn't, I was a teenager and, and I love it and I it's a wonderful lifelong game. I remember interviewing Charles Schultz one time, the creator. Snoopy and the peanuts comic strips. And if you're, if you're, if you're a gen Z, you can Google that for us old guys. It was about his childhood growing up in Minnesota.
Ross: That that's where it was. And he, he lived out in Santa Rosa, California, and wine country. Years later, they were going to close the rink down there and he bought it and he, they still have in his honor, the old, the longest running senior hockey tournament there. And one time he said in his late sixties, he was.
Ross: And a 70 and over team. And that's my dream pit is to be a ringer on a 70 and over team. Cause that would be pretty damn cool that
Lance: such a, so many great stories, Ross, uh, I don't want to keep you any longer, but I do want to put you on the spot and ask you to come on, uh, down the road here to where we can dive into to your, your, your keynote speaking, because there there's so many good messaging there.
Lance: And the other thing too, Uh, yes, you can play hockey into your seventies, eighties, but you can't play competitive hockey. You know, there's, there's a, there's a shelf life and expiration there, but it is a game that, uh, it can be in our lives and you've found a way you've manifested a life where, uh, your passions are, are at the forefront every day, but more important.
Lance: Uh, you know, kind of similar that we're, we're servants to others. And one of the vehicles we use to, to communicate and pass information on is through the sport of hockey. Um, so that's kinda how I conducted myself there, but we'll get you back on here. I just want to congratulate you for an unreal career again.
Lance: Thank you for. I don't know what you did this, lock yourself in a house, a closet for two months and started writing. But, uh, everything that you've produced to it has made a positive impact on the sport. Uh, Herbie has rubbed off rubbed off on you, undersleep by, uh, giving and trying to grow the game and trying to just that, just to help people.
Lance: So the last thing, uh, before we let you go. Where can people learn some more information about you to find some information about all the books? Did you have written,
Ross: you know, I'm not trying to hock anything on your show. I've got a website, Ross bernstein.com, but I want to end up just by throwing it back at you.
Ross: We talked about the kids, but I want to talk to the parents, anyone considering, uh, sending their kids, uh, to work with, with Lance's program. I just want to say what an amazing human he is. I want to vouch for him as one of the most quality. Respected great guys, as a coach, as a human, as a dad and, um, Pitt I'm so proud of you and your success, and it's such an honor to be on your podcast and I'm, I'm just, I'm really in awe.
Ross: This is such a cool thing for me. I'd be, I would love to come back. Talk about a lot of great hockey players in my program, I would be happy to share some wisdom for your listeners if they think they would find it interesting, but kudos to you, brother. I am excited to get together dinner and beers are my treat.
Ross: When we, when we get together next time, somehow we both have children at the university of Minnesota. I don't know how that happened. We're now old guys, but I'm excited to see you and to catch up soon before. That'll
Lance: be awesome. You would think like we're doing.
Ross: I do have a man crush on the pit.
Lance: So I might have to call your wife and say, she's all for this trip to Cabo.
Lance: So, awesome. Well, just continued success. Thank you so much for the kind words, uh, have a great trip and we will catch up when you get.
Ross: Sounds great, buddy. Thank you for
Lance: us. Well, that's a wrap ski for this episode. I hope you've enjoyed Ross's hockey journey as it was a unique one. As a reminder, if you want to learn more about all the books he's written or get more information regarding his keynote speaking, just head on over to Ross bernstein.com.
Lance: Before I let you go, I want to thank you for stopping by for a listen. If you think someone in your circle of family and friends might enjoy Ross Bernstein's hockey. If you could please just share with just one person. It really helps me in growing this hockey community. Again, I appreciate you being here.
Lance: Don't forget to subscribe. I hope to see you back here soon and do me a favor. Make someone close to you. Smile today. All the best. My friends.
