Jack Parker Talks About His Team, His Game, His Life
Legendary hockey coach takes questions from BU community
Terrier head hockey coach Jack Parker chats with Joe Amorosino (COM’92), sports director at Boston’s WHDH-TV. Watch a longer version ofthe interview here.
How will head hockey coach Jack Parker motivate his team in thepostseason? Are student-athletes different today? And how much longer will Parker remain at the helm of BU hockey?
These were some of the questions that the BU community—staff, students, and alumni, including contributors to the Terrier HockeyFan Blog—wanted us to ask Parker (SMG’68, Hon.’97), who sat down for an interview last month with Joe Amorosino (COM’92), sports director at Boston’s WHDH-TV.
The questions addressed not just the team, but the game itself,as well as Parker’s plans for the future. What does it mean to have a young team? If Parker could determine one rule change in college hockey,what would it be? How is he feeling after undergoing heart bypass surgery in 2010? And how will he motivate a team that came in fourth in the 2011 Beanpot? (The Terriers lost to Boston College in the first round, then fell to Harvard in the consolation game.)
“I thought we played great against BC,” says Parker. “We lost in overtime against one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the nation.”
Parker, who is executive director of athletics, has been head coach at BU since 1973. In that time, BU teams have won more than 40 championships, including 3 NCAA Division 1 titles. Parker says the 2010–2011 squad is the youngest he’s ever coached, a fact that bodes well for the future. “If everyone sticks around,” he says, “we’ll be in good shape for the next couple of years.”
Cynthia Buccini can be reached at cbuccini@bu.edu. Nicolae Ciorogan can be reached at ciorogan@bu.edu.
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