‘Winning culture’ drew coach

“It was pause on the machine, rewind on the VCR. That was the extent of the video exposure I had as a player.”

“It was very much X’s and O’s on the board. If you could grasp it, great, but not everyone can.”

Fitzgerald said having video to back up what coaches said or what they saw in options on a play “really does open a player’s eyes to what you can do as a player and how you can improve.”

The Falcons won’t be watching only themselves in team video sessions. Fitzgerald also intends to showcase what the pros do right, and wrong, as well.

“That’s something I actually try to use a lot of is video of the pros, teams that use the same systems as us, teams that have players that are similar to us.”

“If someone makes a mistake, it’s a mistake everyone is going to make. It’s a mistake that the pros are going to make.”

“Any way that our guys can mirror their games from the best in the world I think is a great thing.”

Fitzgerald favours a structured, fast and competitive style of play.

“We need to have a plan for everywhere we are on the ice,” he said. “Having that structure builds trust among the players.”

“When you know where someone is going to be on the ice, you don’t need to be Gretzky to get them the puck.”

“You just need to be able to trust they’re going to be there, make the play and know that it’s going to work.”

Fitzgerald, the reigning Midwestern Conference coach of the year after leading the Cambridge Winters Hawks to a 35-point improvement in the standings, is disappointed the Winter Hawks opted to leave the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League in their quest for reclassification as a junior A team.

“Last year I’m really proud of those players and what they accomplished,” he said. “To not be able to see that through to another year, because I really thought we would have some great retention, was disappointing.”

“But it is a business and they made their decisions, and I was not part of it.”

“For me, it kind of left myself and the rest of the staff and the players, most importantly, a little unsure of what was next, but for all of us some really great opportunities have come from it.”

Other teams reached out to Fitzgerald after he became the coaching equivalent of a free agent, but there was little left to decide after being contacted by Falcons general manager Frank Girhiny.

“At the end of the day, St. Catharines was just a no brainer for me,” he said. “I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this organization.”

Fitzgerald was most impressed by the franchise’s “winning culture.”

“There’s nothing like winning, everybody loves to win.”

Though interconference play is limited to the preseason and to the junior B showcase, usually only two games, Fitzgerald is familiar with the style of play in the Golden Horseshoe loop.

“It’s a really skilled league, a lot of good talent, and I think there is going to be a lot more parity this year, which is going to be good for everybody.”

The job became open after the Falcons and Chris Johnstone, who led the team to a 40-7-0-3 record before losing in six games to the Caledonia Corvairs in the final, agreed to part ways following the season.

Girhiny said he came away from the interview “blown away” by Fitzgerald’s enthusiasm.

“He’s a teacher by trade, so he knows how to communicate with the athletes.”

The Falcons, who are determined to enter their 50th anniversary season “reloading” rather than “rebuilding,” were looking for a coach with a strong emphasis for using video as a teaching tool.

“That’s what today’s athletes are looking for.”

Given his remarkable success so far in a coaching career that’s only entering its fourth season – Ontario Hockey Association coach of the year in his first year behind the bench in junior C Dundas and the top coach in his first full season in the Midwestern loop – the only way Fitzgerald can top that would be to lead the Falcons to at least a conference championship, if not a Sutherland Cup.

Those lofty expectations don’t faze Fitzgerald at all.

“I think everyone has those expectations of the organization and, by extension, me,” he said. “I think the foundation that is here, in terms of organization and players, is going to allow me to be successful, and, yay, the Sutherland Cup is what we’re going for.”

Girhiny figures Fitzgerald will be “one and done” behind the St. Catharines bench.

“He’s been a winner wherever he’s been,” Girhiny said. “This guy is definitely going places.”

“Sure, I would like to have him for more than a year, but you can’t stand in someone’s way.”