Coaching about more than wins, losses for Mavericks all-time wins leader

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Mavericks have a new winningest coach in franchise history. Head coach and general manager Tad O’Had currently has 187 wins, a franchise record and more than any professional hockey coach in KC history.

If you ask O’Had about what makes him a successful coach, he doesn’t talk about strategy. He discusses confronting and dealing with adversity.

“A lot of the life lessons we learn go far beyond the ice,” said O’Had. “They go into everyday life, everyday challenges you may meet throughout your life, how you handle them. It’s something I’m incredibly passionate about.”

Talk to players on the Mavericks, and they’ll tell you their head coach does not seek personal recognition. They say O’Had is great at managing the locker room and knows how to get the most out of his players.

“Taking hockey outside of the equation, he’s a tremendous human being,” said Mavericks goalie Jack LaFontaine. “He’s someone of high character, genuine, authentic, and someone I can look up to. Now, if you want to add hockey back into the equation, he’s a damn good coach.”

“He understands that this isn’t just a one-man job,” said Mavs’ captain David Cotton. “Having that humility brings a lot of the guys in the locker room together. You are not looking for accolades; you’re looking for the ultimate goal which is to win a championship.”

The Mavericks are one of the best teams in the ECHL and have had the least turnover in the league over the last two seasons. This year, the Mavs lead the Western Conference after finishing as league runner-up a year ago.

“He’s put Kansas City on the map,” LaFontaine said. “There is no other way to look at it. This organization has really skyrocketed with him at the helm.”

O’Had said the organization’s recipe for success is simple, but not always easy: it comes down to transparent honesty.

“You treat people like professionals. You treat people like men. You have professional conversations with them. You embrace the difficult conversations,” he said. “We have a lot of challenging and difficult things in pro hockey, but when you communicate effectively, and then when you have commonality for a goal, it’s often you can have a lot of success and grow together.”

If you’d like to find out more about the Mavericks, you can do so here.