Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2012 - 21

(mga profile
)
I'm a Golfer
Bob Mason
Minnesota Wild
Goalie Coach
Interview by Jon Roe
T
urning 50 has proven to be a
time of double pleasure for Bob
Mason, an International Falls native
who has been the Wild's goalie coach
for 10 years and who spends his summers
playing golf at Minnesota Valley.
I almost had a trifecta last summer at
Minnesota Valley. I won the senior men's
club championship and then won the senior
men's match-play championship. But
I blew my chance of winning the Men's
championship when I screwed up on the
last three holes. I made a triple-bogey on
the 16th hole when I couldn't find my teeshot
in the right rough. And then I bogeyed
the 17th hole and made par on the 18th to
lose by one shot.
The Wild got off to a very good start
through the first [quarter] of the season,
and I think there's a connection between
golf and how the team [was] playing. A lot
of how you play, especially as a goalie, has
to do with the mental part of the game. I
watch a lot of tape of our goalies to watch
their mechanics, but I also spend a lot of
time talking to them and getting them
thinking right.
Anytime I sit and talk with one of the
goalies, I end the conversation on a positive
note. It might be just two or three
words: Don't give up. Keep working hard.
It's sort of like the caddie talking to his or
her player. The last thing you say to the
player is the thing he or she remembers.
There were about eight or so guys who
got started playing golf in International
Falls because their dads played, and we all
caddied for them. By the time I was 13 or
14, I was on the golf course from eight in
the morning until the sun set. It also helped
" A lot of how you play, especially as a goalie,
has to do with the mental part of the game. "
that Larry Ross was both the hockey and
golf coach when I was in high school. He
told me a strong grip was the best way to
go, and I still go with a strong grip.
I've been a member at Minnesota Valley
for 21 years, and I think I've won six club
titles over the years. I've played in the City
League and qualified for the State Am a
few times. I think it's 36 straight years that
I've played in the Smokey Bear Invitational
in International Falls.
Out of high school, I played junior
hockey for two years, then got a scholarship
to attend Minnesota-Duluth. My
sophomore year I had a good season and
was MVP of the Western Collegiate Hockey
Association and the player of the year.
I turned pro in 1984 and joined the U.S.
Olympic team. I got into three games in
the Olympics and signed with the Washington
Capitals. I got in the record books
in the 1987 playoffs, when our seventh
game of the series with the New York
Islanders went into four overtimes-the
game lasted two days, overnight-when
Pat LaFontaine scored on me.
I not only work with Nicklas Backstrom
and Josh Harding for the Wild, but I also
work with the goalies in Houston. Last
year, I was with Houston for 22 of their
24 playoff games. I got to know Houston's
coach, Mike Yeo, and he got to know me.
When he was made coach of the Wild, I felt
I had a good chance to stay with the team
because we knew each other pretty well.
www.mngolf.org
Directory 2012 MINNESOTAGOLFER 19
PHOTO BY W.P. RYAN
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2012

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