Bob Frick : part one the player

Bob Frick is the father of Scorpions defenseman Matt Frick.
He has years of experience coaching & scouting for different teams & leagues.
He has been my online teacher. I want to thank him for increasing my hockey knowledge.
I thank him for the time he has spent on his computer to help me with my hockey education & and the interview for my blog.

Bob what postion did you play? What league?
I was a D-man or a center. I played HS & prep school in the early 60's in Massachusetts. I have the "M" states that produce US hockey players covered. My dad, who played at West Point, and mom are both from Minnesota. I grew up in Massachusetts, and my two boys in Michigan.

How long did you play? Why did you stop ?
I started skating when I was three, and played well into my fifties. I was stopped by a lateral muscle pull in my stomach caused when I was leaving the ice after a shift, skating slowly, and my inside edge caught a rut. Just the right angle at the wrong time.

What were your strengths as a player?
I was not a gifted skater, not a very hard shooter, but loved to mix it up. Most games I was assigned to play against the other teams top line and my job was to frustrate them and shut them down. I took it very personally, and obviously, there's always a "faster gun" so I was not happy when we lost and I couldn't contain a bigger/faster/better player.

What were your biggest challenges as a player?
The biggest challenge in my game was the same as it was in real life - funneling my energy into something positive instead of losing my cool, getting in trouble (penalty box), and hurting my team. Managing my aggressive personality was as much a challenge in sports as it was in business or on the bench as a coach. Overcoming mono in my senior year of high school was a challenge I never overcame.

What are the biggest changes you have seen in hockey?
Probably the biggest change is the evolution of the defenseman into an integral part of the offense. When I started playing, the D-man stayed at home, got the puck up to the forwards and coasted to the offensive blue line. First came Bobby Orr, then the European style of making the D-man the fourth man in a rush or the trailor on the play.

Equipment obviously has changed dramatically. I remember when we first got our hands on curved sticks. We spent practice shooting at the clock on the wall, at the end of the rink, fifty rows up. We were down 2-0 in our first game using them. After one period, they were replaced by straight sticks and the novelty wore off.

Tell me about players you have met or played with?
I really haven't met too many famous people. I met Bobby Orr on summer in *North Bay. We had a line from *NB play at Clarkson and Bobby Orr is a year younger than those guys so they knew him. He was shy, quiet, and very poised.
My hero growing up was Bobby Hull and I met him one September at Clarkson when Hull, Stan Makita, and Kenny Wharam came thru to see one of the *NB guys. I also watched the Black Hawks practice at Boston Garden and watched as Hull turned a pane of glass to dust with his shot.