Fred Shero

Fred Shero
Shero during his playing days with the New York Rangers
Born	October 23, 1925(1925-10-23) Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Died	November 24, 1990(1990-11-24) (aged 65) Camden, NJ, USA
Height	5 ft. 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	185 lb. (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb.)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Rangers
Playing career	1947–1958

Frederick Alexander "The Fog" Shero (October 23, 1925 - November 24, 1990) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. He played for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). However, he spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues. Following his playing career, he went into coaching, spending 13 years coaching in the minor leagues before making it to the NHL. As an NHL head coach, Shero won the Stanley Cup twice with the Philadelphia Flyers (1974 and 1975) and reached the Stanley Cup Finals three times in Philadelphia (1974, 1975, and 1976). He also had four consecutive seasons of having a 0.700 or better winning percentage and remains the Flyers all-time leader in coaching victories. Shero controversially left the Flyers following the 1977-78 season to become the head coach of the New York Rangers, whom he led to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first season. He resigned from the Rangers after coaching for less than three seasons. Shero had a unique style of coaching that led to several innovations that are still used today. He was the first coach to hire a full-time assistant coach, employ systems, have his players use in season strength training, study film, and he was one of the first coaches to utilize a morning skate.

He was known for his enigmatic and introverted personality often times appearing or disappearing from a room unnoticed, or being completely lost in thought. He often left philosophical sayings on a chalkboard as a way of provoking thought or as a motivational tool.

Prior to game six of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, Shero wrote his now famous quote "Win today and we walk together forever" - a statement that continues to be quoted to this day.

Another quote worth remembering from Shero is “Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion; you must first set yourself on fire.”

We will use both of these quotes in our team meetings this week. You just never know when someone else’s words will strike a nerve in one of your athletes. As coaches, that is one of our major job requirements – striking nerves, compelling athletes into action. Have a great week in the pool!!