Every athlete has had a coach who has inspired them; pushed them; motivated them to be the best. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ve had two. In a small town in south-central Massachusetts exist some of the best around. From pee-wee soccer (Coach Mark Brown) to high school football (Coach Ken LaChapelle), kids in the sleepy community of Northbridge have it made; and while Pro Sports Chick likes to keep the focus on national sporting news, every once in a while, a local legend deserves recognition. After all, every professional athlete was once coached as a child, and who knows, maybe it was a coach who made the difference between Tom Brady the Quarterback and Tom Brady the Accountant.

We will be running a series on Pro Sports Kids about great coaches around the country. Before we launch that series, however, I thought it important to recognize a milestone that will soon be reached by one of the best coaches I have ever played for: Coach Ken LaChapelle. ‘Coach Lach’ as he is known to students, citizens and coworkers has been at the helm of the Northbridge football program since 1976. He also served as the Athletic Director for decades, taught physical education, and coached girls’ softball. He also used to drive a badass white stingray Corvette that pretty much every kid at NHS coveted.

With a win against Southbridge next Friday night, September 28^th, Coach Lach will earn win #300 in his career. He is currently the third winningest (not a word, get over it) in Massachusetts history, and one of the only guys on the list who is STILL coaching. With 17 more wins, he will move into the #1 spot. This feat will most likely be accomplished next season. What’s more impressive is that unlike many of the coaches on the list, he has coached for one program his entire career: The Northbridge Rams.

I had the opportunity to speak with one of Coach’s former players, Jimmy. It should be noted that Jimmy is a Coach himself, having recently taken over the helm of the Blackstone Valley Tech Beavers football team. Under his tutelage, the Beavers have improved exponentially. He had nothing but glowing praise for his former Coach and friend, Ken LaChapelle.

What do you think is Coach Lach’s legacy, not just in Northbridge, but in coaching in general?

Obviously the wins speak for themselves. Three hundred is such a huge number and the rate at which he wins is what amazes me. Coach won his 200th game against Leicester in 2001, so that means he has won 100 games in 11 years. That is unheard of these days. I think aside from the wins and the 10 Super Bowl Championships, the thing that really defines his legacy is that he has done it at one school, and that school is not a private school or a school with 3,000 kids. The schools like St. Johns, Everett, Brockton … they SHOULD win every year based on numbers alone. Coach has put Northbridge on the map through football and running a successful operation for the last 40 years.

Did Coach serve as a mentor to you, and what impact did that relationship have on your life/career?

I think anyone who has played for coach has looked up to him in one form or another. I can only speak for myself, but I can say that every time I see him we always have a great conversation and he is interested in you as a person and the subject isn’t always about football. The things I have learned from playing for Coach are apparent in my own everyday coaching life. Dealing with kids, on and off the field, play calling, philosophies etc…My kids even joke that we are now “Northbridge Tech” because I strongly believe in what I was taught as a player by Coach Lach and if I’m going to model my offense after anyone’s, it’s going to be modeled after the best play caller I have ever been around.

Did Coach inspire or influence your decision to coach yourself?

Not really. I knew in high school that I wanted to coach and I think that was more because I understood the game and what was going on around me. Obviously, having spent time around Coach, there are things that you pick up and learn. Now, 10 years later, looking at what he has accomplished I find myself influenced more by him. I look at what he has done over his time with the program and I want to do that with my own program. I can only hope to have half the success he has had and touch half as many lives.

As a former player, what was it like to play for him?

It was the best. In the years I played, we were very good. It was awesome. We enjoyed being at practice, being around each other and coach creates that atmosphere. I remember when I went to my first practice for the Central-Western Mass Shriner Chowder Bowl Classic and the Clinton coaches were running the offense. All they did was run the ball. It was so boring. That’s when you realize how lucky you were to have played football at Northbridge High School.

What do people not know about Coach off the field?

No matter what, he is always thinking football. I remember my senior year, the fall of 2001, we came in on Monday for our “add day” where we went over the new plays for the week. He had drawn up plays on a church bulletin during Sunday’s service and brought them in. I don’t know why, but we all thought that was hysterical. Coach thought nothing of it. I think because of football, he gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so. As great of a football coach as he is, I think he is an even better man.

Coach Lach doesn’t just believe in the great players, though. He champions the underdog, and is patient; giving everyone the time and attention they need to learn a sport. He yelled when he had to, but mostly laughed. He loved a terrible player who was a great teammate more than a great player with a poor attitude. For that, he will always be a hero to many kids that have come through the Northbridge school system. This is echoed by former player, Mark Blette:

“Coach always knew how to get the best out of you no matter what size you were or what background you came from. He saw potential in every kid and gave kids a chance to succeed. He is a great leader and should be recognized for it! Truly an inspiration to all.”

Coach Ken LaChapelle and the Northbridge Rams will try for Coach’s 300^th win next Friday evening, September 28^th, at 7:00pm at Southbridge High School (25 Cole Avenue, Southbridge, MA). Pro Sports Chick will be there, let us know if you will be too!

While Pro Sports Chick likes to stay out of politics for the most part, when the free speech [and Constitutionally guaranteed right] of an NFL player is threatened, we pay attention. If you think all football players are meatheads, you may want to check your small-minded assumptions at the door.

Earlier this week, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo spoke out in favor of a Maryland state ballot initiative that would legalize gay marriage in the state. Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Democrat delegate from Maryland, wrote a letter to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, urging him to “inhibit such expressions from your employee.” 

Chris Kluwe, kicker for the Minnesota Vikings, wrote a response letter to Burns. The text of the letter is below:

Dear Emmett C. Burns Jr.,

I find it inconceivable that you are an elected official of Maryland’s state government. Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level. The views you espouse neglect to consider several fundamental key points, which I will outline in great detail (you may want to hire an intern to help you with the longer words):

1. As I suspect you have not read the Constitution, I would like to remind you that the very first, the VERY FIRST Amendment in this founding document deals with the freedom of speech, particularly the abridgment of said freedom. By using your position as an elected official (when referring to your constituents so as to implicitly threaten the Ravens organization) to state that the Ravens should “inhibit such expressions from your employees,” more specifically Brendon Ayanbadejo, not only are you clearly violating the First Amendment, you also come across as a narcissistic fromunda stain. What on earth would possess you to be so mind-boggingly stupid? It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own religious studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify stifling another person’s right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be to do a disservice to the word. Mindfucking obscenely hypocritical starts to approach it a little bit.

2. “Many of your fans are opposed to such a view and feel it has no place in a sport that is strictly for pride, entertainment, and excitement.” Holy fucking shitballs. Did you seriously just say that, as someone who’s “deeply involved in government task forces on the legacy of slavery in Maryland”? Have you not heard of Kenny Washington? Jackie Robinson? As recently as 1962 the NFL still had segregation, which was only done away with by brave athletes and coaches daring to speak their mind and do the right thing, and you’re going to say that political views have “no place in a sport”? I can’t even begin to fathom the cognitive dissonance that must be coursing through your rapidly addled mind right now; the mental gymnastics your brain has to tortuously contort itself through to make such a preposterous statement are surely worthy of an Olympic gold medal (the Russian judge gives you a 10 for “beautiful oppressionism”).

3. This is more a personal quibble of mine, but why do you hate freedom? Why do you hate the fact that other people want a chance to live their lives and be happy, even though they may believe in something different than you, or act different than you? How does gay marriage, in any way shape or form, affect your life? If gay marriage becomes legal, are you worried that all of a sudden you’ll start thinking about penis? “Oh shit. Gay marriage just passed. Gotta get me some of that hot dong action!” Will all of your friends suddenly turn gay and refuse to come to your Sunday Ticket grill-outs? (Unlikely, since gay people enjoy watching football too.)

I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won’t come into your house and steal your children. They won’t magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster. They won’t even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population—rights like Social Security benefits, child care tax credits, Family and Medical Leave to take care of loved ones, and COBRA healthcare for spouses and children. You know what having these rights will make gays? Full-fledged American citizens just like everyone else, with the freedom to pursue happiness and all that entails. Do the civil-rights struggles of the past 200 years mean absolutely nothing to you?

In closing, I would like to say that I hope this letter, in some small way, causes you to reflect upon the magnitude of the colossal foot in mouth clusterfuck you so brazenly unleashed on a man whose only crime was speaking out for something he believed in. Best of luck in the next election; I’m fairly certain you might need it.

Sincerely,
Chris Kluwe

P.S. I’ve also been vocal as hell about the issue of gay marriage so you can take your “I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing” and shove it in your close-minded, totally lacking in empathy piehole and choke on it. Asshole.

Chris Kluwe is a punter for the Vikings. Follow him on Twitter, @ChrisWarcraft.

Baseball has long been called “America’s Game”. How ironic that among American sports baseball is the only one that is purely capitalistic. There is no salary cap, no everyone-gets-a-trophy-for-participating salary floor meant to give your team hope, just cold hard cash. While money spent doesn’t always equal wins or championships, you have to be willing to spend to be competitive. Even those teams that are winning with young inexpensive talent will face a reckoning with massive contract extension demands in the future. There is virtually no good stuff cheap in baseball.

You can have revenue sharing, luxury tax, and any other fancy named attempt at financial parity, but it will never be enough to create a level playing field. As long as some teams can make hundreds of millions of dollars more than the median just by having their own television network, then the balance of power will be dramatically shifted. The Dodgers are a perfect example of this. They know that they will cash in big with a television deal in the offseason, and the better they do this year the more money they will take in per year. When a franchise has the ability to make money outside merchandise and seat revenue then they have more money to invest in payroll, scouting, and international development, thus tipping the scales of power.

Baseball is a game of two currencies; money and prospects. While some teams spend obscene amounts of money at virtually every position, others have no choice to always look to the future. The curse of baseball is that with so many draft picks each year any team can find a hidden gem a thousand picks deep. There tend to be more first round busts than household names, and the teams that are willing to spend the cash have more options. When you, the low-budget team, are only able to offer a low six figure bonus to a high school player, he may or may not sign a contract. He likely has a full scholarship to the college of his choice, and the chance to mature and enter the draft a more developed college prospect. When a rich team can guarantee a seven figure bonus to the same player there is a much higher probability that he will be wearing your uniform at a press conference in a few days. In a few years, the low-budget team will likely acquire the same player, trading away a higher paid major league player to a team gunning for a postseason berth, all in an attempt to build with inexpensive young talent.

A change in draft pick compensation may actually change the philosophy of the financially lucrative teams. In the past, certain free agents carried first or second round compensation to the team that lost the player in the open market. If the player was traded as a few month rental, the new team got the draft pick compensation. Now if a player is traded in the season before he hits free agency, he has no compensatory value. A player’s current team has to weigh the value of potentially resigning the player, the weight in compensation he is assigned if he signs with another team, or his value in prospects if he is traded. Not much changes for the original small market team, but a high budget team may take a second look at their plans. In the past, if they traded prospects for an attempt to help make it to the World Series, the team would get draft picks back to help offset those players that were traded away. As of this offseason, that practice is over. Now they have to judge whether the player they rent now is worth the cost of the prospects they give up.

Very few things happen quickly in baseball. The games take longer than they used to, players spend years in the minors, and contracts are so complex it takes a team of lawyers just to read the cover sheet. Change in baseball front offices happens even slower. Teams that are set in their ways will continue to spend cash on draft picks and free agents, as well as trading prospects to fill in any gaps. In a few years, when their farm system is depleted, it will then kick in that you can’t rob Peter and Paul without paying for it in the end. Teams will figure out how to balance out payroll and prospects. The one caveat is International baseball. Players around the world have watched the major market stars in MLB for years. They have dreamed of being the next Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Greg Maddux, etc. Unless they put up the cash, a team like Houston or Milwaukee isn’t a dream destination spot for a high-profile foreign import. The past has proven that players sign with big name teams. Teams will need to win, and do it economically, to help become the Alpha male in baseball. Even in a world of “competitive balance”, a smart franchise will always find an advantage, and that advantage lies in bringing in someone who grew up with America’s Game being a foreign sport.

While accusations of selfishness are being thrown around the National Hockey League (NHL), Pro Sports Chick wanted to take a moment and explain the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to people who may not know what it actually is. And you may not know what a lockout is either, and that’s okay. But these terms have become very important in modern sports and could have  a lot to do with the future of professional sporting leagues around the world.

So, think of the sports leagues (NFL, NHL, MLS, NBA, MLB and others) as big companies. Think of the players as unionized workers. I mean, they kind of are. The players have associations like the NHLPA that employ lawyers, arbitrators and others to work on the players’ behalf. Basically, these Players’ Associations are like local plumbing, electrical and iron workers unions, just on a bigger [pay] scale. A lot of fans don’t even know that these associations actually exist, and they probably wouldn’t if it weren’t for all the financial issues as of late.

What financial issues? Well, one big problem has been that players (backed by their associations) want a certain percentage of whatever money their league earns that year. The owners generally don’t want to give them as much as they want, and in many cases, want to reduce the percentage that players receive. This is when arbitrators get together with members of the Players’ Association and league owners and try to work out a collective bargaining agreement. The CBA is simply the end result of the process of working out the terms of employment conditions. Collective bargaining agreements expire, and that is when the issues start.

When the parties involved can’t come to an agreement, players will do what teachers, nurses, plumbers and many other unionized workers do when they don’t get what they want in negotiations: they’ll go on strike. Only in professional sports, this is called a lockout. In a lockout, however, owners stop all activity and prohibit players from doing anything team related or using any team facilities. This especially hurts injured players, who can’t see team trainers and doctors who are generally the best in the world at dealing with the unique injuries that come along with sports.

So, if the NHL players don’t get what they want, there could be a lockout, and this could have several different outcomes: The season will start late (as it did after the NBA lockout this past season), it could get solved with compromise in time for the season to start (like what happened in the NFL last year – a situation that saw Patriots owner Robert Kraft step up and play a major role in saving the season), or the season could be scrapped altogether (which happened in the NHL only a few years ago).

If you’re not a huge fan of sports, you may be thinking, “So what if they don’t play? I don’t like hockey anyway!” Well, it’s not that simple. You see, it’s not just the league or players who are affected. In fact, with their salaries, the majority will not be horribly affected. Fans get a pretty bad shake, but they might save a few hundred bucks on game tickets, parking and souvenirs. The REAL losers in this whole affair become the stadium/arena workers. The people who work the parking garages and the souvenir stands and the food kiosks. These people, who often support their families on near minimum-wage depend on games to earn money. If the NHL season doesn’t happen, these people will have to scramble to find work last-minute, and in a shitty economy, that’s not  a good place to be. I think it’s fine for players to expect to be paid their fair share for playing a dangerous sport, and owners need to protect their bottom line too, but people need to realize that there are more than just two parties affected when a lockout happens. I hope, for this very reason, that the NHLPA and the owners are able to come to an agreement.