Oxford’s new tutor on Stars progress so far

LONDON, UK –  There is never a dull moment with the Oxford City Stars and the 2009/10 season has been no exception. With four different coaches taking the reins in less than 14 months, Stars fans can never be sure of what is round the corner for their team.

The latest man hoping to mastermind success at Oxpens Road is Ontario native Ken Forshee. ‘Forsh’ is no stranger to coaching having previously cut his teeth on the bench at Swindon, leading the Wildcats to an impressive fourth place finish in the English Premier League in 2006. After a short spell as player for Invicta Dynamos, Forshee quit the game to support his wife as she went through a risky pregnancy of triplets. Now he is back in the game and is looking forward to helping the Stars finish the season strongly, following the departure of former Coach Simon Anderson. It was Anderson who brought Forshee to the club as a player and the current Coach is grateful for the opportunity:
 
“I was missing the game and the opportunity to lace up the skates for Oxford came at just the right time. Now that the kids are doing well and we are in a proper routine at home I felt it would be a good time to get back in the game. With me living in Swindon, Oxford was a good fit. I also knew a lot of the guys who were playing in Oxford and have a lot of respect for Simon Anderson who was my assistant coach in Swindon”
 
When Anderson departed to Swindon mid season, the experienced Forshee was the obvious candidate to take over. Oxford have had player coaches before with Dan Prachar in 2003/05 and last season Richie Hargreaves combining both roles. Both had their critics with many fans believing the added responsibility diminished their impact on the ice. Despite the criticism it is worth noting that under Prachar and Hargreaves the Stars had successful campaigns, however Forshee admits that in an ideal world, the player coach role isn’t one he would advocate:  
 
“I will be the first to admit I am not a big believer in player-coaches. I think in a sport as fast as hockey you ideally need the coach on the bench overseeing everything. But at this level, it sometimes makes sense to have a player-coach for financial reasons and sometimes the player-coach is the best option to make the team as strong as possible,
 
“You need to make sure your team is well organized and guys know their roles in this set-up. Good communication is essential so you and your players are all on the same page heading into a game”
 
As for the Stars chances this season, the Coach is refreshingly honest about his team. Oxford have flattered to deceive this year chalking up some excellent victories, most notably the road win over Bracknell and also victories over Wightlink and Cardiff. This has been tempered by poor performances against Haringey and Peterborough along with defeats to the teams they beat previously. A lack of consistency seems to be the issue but Forshee believes that work rate is the key:
 
“I think that on paper we are right where we should be in the standings to be honest. We certainly aren’t the most talented team in the league. But since I have taken over as coach the one thing that I am trying to drill in to these guys is that if we want to win games we are going to have to outwork the opposition. Without a strong work ethic we aren’t going anywhere,
 
“The guys have really bought into this, and this is going to have to be the way forward for us. We aren’t going to out skill the Invictas, Bracknells, Cardiffs and Chelmsfords. Hard work wins games and hopefully that will be the case for us, both in the remaining league games and more importantly the play offs. We do have a dressing room that is together and wants to play as a team. We don’t have anybody that puts themselves ahead of the team and as a coach that is refreshing and fun to work with”
 
Oxford have had a relatively high turnover of players this season but one major negative for Forshee was the loss of Juraj Rusic to injury. The import forward was all set to play a key part in Oxford’s season until a shoulder injury ruled him out. Forshee admits that it was a tough pill to swallow:
 
“Losing Juraj was a huge blow. On our team we don’t have depth in guys with high offensive skill. We miss his offense big time. It has also forced me into getting more ice time then I was initially counting on. At Oxford we simply don’t have the funds, or housing for that matter to replace an import”
 
Looking forward to the remainder of the season, Forshee is much like the other ENL coaches insisting that he has no fears regarding what group Oxford end up in. Despite the calm collected approach, he perhaps unsurprisingly feels Invicta are the team that everyone needs to beat:
 
“I have nothing but respect for the Invicta organization and it is a great group of guys there. I had to quit that season halfway through as my wife was going through an extremely difficult pregnancy, and I just didn’t feel comfortable commuting and being 2 and a half hours away from her in case something went wrong. My mind just wasn’t on hockey at the time. I think they are still the cream of the crop in this league and have the best kept secret in English ice hockey- Andy Smith (A lot of people in this country just don’t understand how good this guy actually is),
 
“With Chelmsford and Wightlink dropping down into this league and Bracknell, Cardiff and ourselves continuing to get better it certainly isn’t a cake walk for them anymore but they still are the best team in this league. The competitiveness between the top six teams in our league is encouraging and an obvious sign that this league is becoming more reputable”
 
Speaking of reputations, Forshee is an ambitious individual and after many years in the game in the UK he see’s this opportunity at Oxford as a good start to higher things:
 
“I know my best playing days are way behind me but I did want to get my name out there again, because I did want to get back into coaching. I have no idea what will happen over the next few years, but my goal is to coach at the highest level possible. If I do return to Oxford then I will be looking to build as strong a team as possible to challenge the big teams”
 
Forshee’s honesty comes across frequently when discussing both his own ambitions along with those for the Stars. With this in mind it would be against all rules of journalism not to find out his thoughts on the biggest talking point of Oxford’s season, namely their bright green shirts. In what will be a big blow to the Stars fan base who scream Green Army on a regular basis when Oxford are playing, Forshee concedes he isn’t a fan:
 
“Again I always try to be honest. I’m not a huge fan of the green jerseys, I keep asking the guys who came up with the colour scheme but surprisingly nobody has taken responsibility. But all jokes aside I certainly do take pride in putting on the Oxford jersey and will always give 100% in it”
 
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
 
Carrsy
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com