The Making Of A Coach
3/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 25, 2004
As another mid-week practice winds down for the Michigan State hockey team, most of the players and coaches file through the tunnel and into the locker room, ready to relax after another busy day. But, as the zamboni slowly makes his way onto ice, he has to yell at two stragglers who are spending every last second they can on the rink. These are the guys that have such a passion for the game they would play after the lights are out and everyone else has gone home if they could. One of these is Damon Whitten, MSU's first-year volunteer assistant coach.
The Brighton, Mich., native, started playing goalie when he was five years old and stayed between the pipes until he was a junior in high school. Whitten caught on to the forward position phenomenally well registering 44 points in 43 games for the Detroit Freeze of the North American Hockey League during the 1995-96 season and 46 points in 50 games for St. Michaels of the Provincial Junior A League during the 1996-97 campaign.
He fulfilled a childhood dream of suiting up for the Spartans after walking-on before the 1997 season. While at State, he was part of the winningest senior class in program history, going to two Frozen Four tournaments and winning three regular-season CCHA titles. During his four years, he appeared in 166 games compiling 35 goals and 40 assists for 75 career points.
 During his four-year Spartan career, Damon Whitten appeared in 166 games, compiling 35 goals and 40 assists for 75 points.  | |
Whitten pursued a career at the professional ranks following graduation. He played a total of 135 games in the East Coast Hockey League for the Arkansas RiverBlades and The Greenville Grrrowl. But following the 2002-03 season, he made the tough decision to hang up the skates and focus on a career in coaching.
"The two biggest reasons were concussions, my body has taken a lot of abuse, and this position as volunteer assistant coach was open," remarked Whitten. "I always thought I wanted this position even when I was playing here. If I felt I could have moved up, I probably would have played a little longer."
But Whitten will be the first to tell you a career in coaching has been a long time coming. He first found a passion for life behind the bench from his years of going to Quentin Rija's goaltending school.
"I think that was a big influence in my whole life going to that goalie school," said Whitten, who also credits his family's encouragement and dedication to sticking around the sport for so many years. "Anybody will tell you hockey parents are the best parents on the planet. They sacrifice so much to let us play. Both my mom and my dad put in all kinds of money and all kinds of hours, two hour drives to Detroit at 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings and four to five nights a week."
But most of all, he thinks it is his knowledge of the game and ability to relate players' experiences that will make him successful in the coaching ranks.
"The kind of player I was, I wasn't the most talented like (my former teammate and current Edmonton Oiler) Mike York, but I think I have a good grasp of the psychology of the game and can use that to help the kids reach their goals and be the best players they can be," he states.
Whitten sees his ideal level of coaching to be at the college ranks, so it is fitting that he has been mentored by two of the greatest college coaches of all-time, Ron Mason and Rick Comley. While playing for the Spartans, he developed a reputation as a tight-checking, physical forward under Mason's defense first system, so it took a little time adjusting to Comley's run-and-gun offensive style.
"In my resume, it will be good to have one of the best defensive coaches ever with one of the best offensive coaches ever," said Whitten. "Coach Comley has really opened up my eyes to some different ways to play the game."
While Whitten really enjoys his position as volunteer assistant coach and sees it as a major stepping stone into the coaching ranks, he has also used it to get know the guys on the team a little better.
"They realize I am not a coach, and hopefully they can approach me about some stuff they might not be able to approach some of the other coaches with," Whitten commented. "But I've been really surprised with how respectful the guys have been and seem to appreciate when I try to point things out. It has been very rewarding so far."
It is that gratification that he enjoys the most about coaching.
"I think when you can help a guy achieve what he is trying to do it is very rewarding," said Whitten. "Take Steve Swistak for example, to see what he has been able to do; contributing by making big hits and being effective in the style he plays. I would like to think I have had a little help in that."
So, although he currently spends games in the press box doing color commentary for the Spartan Radio Network; don't be surprised if before long you see Damon Whitten shouting orders from behind the bench in a college hockey game.
By Kevin Wilson, MSU Sports Information
