{"id":30626,"date":"2009-08-24T09:20:23","date_gmt":"2009-08-24T14:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2009\/08\/24\/hockey-is-the-terriers-summer-job\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:57:29","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:57:29","slug":"hockey-is-the-terriers-summer-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2009\/08\/24\/hockey-is-the-terriers-summer-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey is the Terriers’ Summer Job"},"content":{"rendered":"
For Boston University students, summertime is a time to rejoice. It’s a time of doing nothing<\/i> on the beach, porch or couch. It’s a time of “No more teachers, no more books, blah, blah, blah” and “Mom, can I borrow the car (and $20)?” <\/p>\n
And for the drained (bank accounts and bodies of the) academic denizens of lower Commonwealth Avenue it’s a time of serious R&R. <\/p>\n
Even those students who stay on campus the months of June, July and August (and, let’s face it, pretend) to take summer classes will probably remember roof decks, fireworks on the Esplanade and the sounds of Sweet Caroline cascading over the Green Monster at Fenway a little easier than they recall the key points of their 8 a.m. lectures. <\/p>\n
But that doesn’t apply to the fraternity of student athletes, and most particularly the Terriers hockey team, who spend their summer vacation working or, more specifically, working out. <\/p>\n
However, you would think that past Terriers hockey teams might have had a bit more relaxing respite than the current players are enjoying at the moment. <\/p>\n
You would think, wouldn’t you? <\/p>\n
“Well, I think most of us still had part-time or summer jobs,” said a chuckling Mike Bavis of the minor difference between the Terriers teams of his playing era and today’s ice-bound BU students. “Not many of [the current] guys are doing that!” <\/p>\n
Summer jobs aside, Bavis made it clear that Jack Parker’s prized athletes have always concentrated on keeping in shape and continuing the regimen designed by BU’s strength and conditioning guru, Mike Boyle. <\/p>\n
“Obviously, the training has changed to some extent, but the commitment — the time commitment — and how important it is to our players to be physically prepared, it’s almost as if it is a given,” Bavis said.<\/p>\n
Clearly, the former BU skater turned BU assistant coach turned Terriers associate head coach knows of what he speaks. On the ice, Bavis was a key member of four outstanding Boston University teams — he appeared in four NCAA tournaments, one national championship game and had a 123-43-15 record over four winters. <\/p>\n
Bavis played both sides of the puck effectively and was voted New England’s top defensive forward in 1992 and 1993. He had a 34-48-82 line in 159 career games. Following three professional seasons and three years away from the rink, Bavis returned to Commonwealth Avenue in 1998-99 as an assistant coach. <\/p>\n
“When you get back in September you are going to be as physically fit as you possibly can,” Bavis said of a BU player’s summer. “You’re going to have made positive gains, real positive gains, not just token gains in your condition. You’re going to be in a level of condition that we’ve established that we think we have to have across the board.”<\/p>\n