For hockey, Coach Diamond says: Don't keep it static

LAKEVILLE - When he's not at his Lakeville pizza shop (Deano's, on Route 44), Dean Diamond can usually be found at the ice rink at the Salisbury School coaching the Housatonic/Northwestern hockey team.

(The team is a co-op team made up of students from the high schools in Falls Village and Winsted.)

For Diamond, sports have been a lifelong passion and, though it may come as a surprise to some, hockey was not his first love.

"Baseball is my big sport, Diamond said in an interview. "From T-ball to college, baseball was my sport. I even went to two open tryouts for the New York Mets."

Diamond attributes his involvement in hockey to the interest his sons took in the sport after the family moved to the Northwest Corner from upstate New York in 1995.

"My sons, Ryan and Kevin, wanted to play when they were at Salisbury Central," Diamond said. "Art Wilkinson, who was the recreation director in Salisbury at the time, asked me to volunteer as a coach."

Diamond became assistant coach for the youth hockey team in Salisbury, a memory he recalls fondly.

"Growing up in Brooklyn, I never had ice skated," Diamond said. "So I learned to skate with the kids in Salisbury and I ran drills with them during practice."

When the head coach position opened up for the team, Diamond was eager to take it. To prepare, he read several instructional books to learn the drills that he would use as head coach.

Diamond's passion for the sport began to grow.

"Hockey became my number one love," he said. "I regret not having played it as a kid. I can't demonstrate the drills the way that I'd like to, since I never played. Usually I need to ask one of my players to demonstrate it."

Over the years, though, he's developed his own coaching philosophy and style. He sums it up as "try and never keep one static style." He tries to adapt his game plan to meet the strengths of his athletes, rather than taking a cookie-cutter approach.

"There are a lot of strategies and opinions out there and any of them could turn out to be the right or wrong one to use," Diamond said. "I try to adjust to the kids' style, to better utilize their strengths and allow the kids to perform. I can't ask them to do things that they don't have the ability for."

When asked what his favorite part about coaching is, Diamond's answer was all about the athletes and the experience.

"It's been a lot of fun watching the kids grow and have success in sports," Diamond said. "I've been coaching some of these kids for about eight years now and the development process has been great. We've shared a lot of good laughs and great memories over the years.

"I just hope that I've had a positive influence on their lives. In the end, I hope that they've had fun, because that's what youth sports are all about.

"Sports are a great thing," he said. "They teach kids hard work and focus. It gives them goals to work for and keeps them out of trouble. Sports are very important to the community."