IOWA'S COACHING STAFF BONDING IN SHARED OFFICE
Feb 13, 2024The Iowa Wild coaching staff arrives at Wells Fargo Arena hours before commuters converge on downtown Des Moines. Each coach parks across the street from the rink, braves the wind off the river, and ducks into the building as the sun breaks the horizon.
Technically, the Iowa Wild locker room has three offices dedicated to the coaching staff along its entrance hallway. In the team’s first ten years, two assistant coaches kept their desks in the first room. The head coach sat in the center office, while the video coach and goaltending coach shared the furthest office.
In Brett McLean’s first season as the team’s head coach, the staff has a unique arrangement; all five coaches work together in the largest, center office. While they still use the other offices to change or hold the occasional meeting, most of their working hours are spent elbow to elbow. McLean modeled the new setup off his experience in Minnesota.
"In Minnesota, we were always in the same room and that’s what I’m used to,” said McLean. “There’s no need to spend half of our work day trying to get everyone in the same room to have a coaches meeting. We ask our players to play like a team, be unselfish, and always work together, so we need to lead as a staff.”
"It’s different, especially when you’ve got a big man like (assistant coach) Cody Franson who takes up a lot of room,” said assistant coach Ben Simon. “It’s an interesting dynamic and a different philosophy. It’s been great in terms of sharing ideas and watching video.”
Simon credits McLean with creating a unique environment where each member of the staff has a voice.
“There’s shared responsibilities and shared reward,” said Simon. “It’s not viewed as ‘his power play’ or ‘his penalty kill.’ It’s our everything. The setup is group encompassing and aligns perfectly with the values he’s trying to build with the team.”
There are upsides and downsides to coaching professional hockey in central Iowa. While the workday starts early, the coaches typically manage to finish their days and head home ahead of rush hour traffic.
Richard Bachman, who is in his fourth season as the team’s goaltending coach, is the only one accompanied by family in Des Moines. McLean, Simon, and Franson each made the challenging decision to live away from their families during the season when they were hired.
McLean, who previously served as an assistant coach with Iowa before holding the same title with Minnesota, moved with his wife and children to each destination. While the McLean family had close ties to Des Moines from their years living in the community, they ultimately elected to forego another move.
“We absolutely love Des Moines,” said McLean. “But our daughter is a junior in high school and our boys have all their friends around. With the two cities being so close together, we decided to keep the family up there this season.”
McLean and his family frequently traverse the 230-mile journey along I-35 to spend as much time together as possible. Sometimes, the coach even heads north immediately following an evening game to guarantee a full off day together.
Schooling played a similar role in Simon’s decision to keep his family in Grand Rapids during the season. Simon spent 10 seasons behind the bench with the Griffins and felt that it didn’t make sense to uproot his daughter.
"There are crossroads at several points in your career,” said Simon. “It made no sense to move my youngest, who’s in high school. She’s got a great support system there.”
Cody Franson's decision came a little easier. When Iowa hired Franson in late December, there were less than four months left in the regular season. He left his truck behind for his wife to use in the harsher Canadian winter months with plans to reevaluate his family’s situation in the offseason.
“When I played, my family came with me to every stop with the exception of the Covid year,” said Franson. “In a situation like this one where it was for the remainder of the season, my family didn’t come down.”
With their family life disrupted, it would be natural for the coaches to be worried about finding ways to spend their down time. Thankfully, they have 25-year-old video coach Ray Sylvester to invigorate their social lives.
"He’s kind of our social director when we have a night off,” said McLean. “We always try to get together to watch a game and get a burger. He’s a big part of the fabric of our staff and we’re lucky to have him.”
The group’s willingness to spend their off hours together is a testament to the success of their office arrangement. Despite spending most of their work day separated by inches, each coach says that they prefer the setup.
“It’s great. We get to collaborate a little bit and it’s easy to bounce ideas off each other,” said Sylvester. “We depend on each other on and off the ice. It’s good to have that support and everyone’s in the same position, so no one feels left out.”
As Iowa kicks off its playoff push, each coach knows that a summertime reunion with their family is still months away. Meanwhile, the group expects to tighten its bonds within the walls of their shared office.
“Luckily, I’ve found some new family members here,” said Franson.