Craig Berube lays down the law with the Toronto Maple Leafs: he has removed Sheldon Keefe's soft rule
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River Hawk
September 21, 2024 (10:55 PM)
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Photo credit: NHL
During their training camp, Craig Berube made a clear signal to the Toronto Maple Leafs with one subtle change: Sheldon Keefe is no longer laying down the law, and neither are his old policies.
Craig Berube was expected to make some major changes to how the Leafs work as a team. Yet, with the start of training camp behind, he has already made a more subtle change that makes the game all the more serious in Toronto. Sheldon Keefe was known for playing music during Toronto's training camp, particularly that of 50 Cent. Yet, according to Sportsnet contributor Luke Fox, Berube has removed this from training camp, leaving only the sound of practice in the arena.
"The opening of Toronto Maple Leafs training camp was the day the music died.
One could spot a couple PTOs and a PP, a 2C and an F3.
But no DJ.
Under the former coaching regime, the Maple Leafs' bag skates and line rushes were usually set to music, with a staffer designated to cue up some vintage 50 Cent to help keep pulses pounding and tempos high in the practice facility.
Under Craig Berube, however, the only "music" is that of pucks off glass, shrill neck whistles and bodies slamming into boards.
The new bench boss in town is direct and no frills, and he's demanding his charges play that way."
"Overall, given the summative evidence in the research literature supporting music listening for exercise and sport across a range of outcome variables, it is reasonable to conclude that music has the capacity to provide significant positive effects for exercisers and athletes, particularly in the areas of enhanced affective responses and improved physical performance, but also in terms of reduced perceived exertion and more efficient oxygen utilization."
However, this same study does not conclude that it is guaranteed to help every athlete or any general exerciser. Instead, these research psychologists suggest that more work be done to look at how this could be done most effectively.
"Although the present results represent a robust evidence base, it is important to bear in mind that the benefits of listening to music before or during physical activity are not guaranteed.
The central challenge for researchers and practitioners is no longer to speculate over whether music has the potential to provide benefits for exercisers and athletes, because clearly it does, but instead to clarify ways by which to use it optimally."
Provided Toronto's playoffs record with Sheldon Keefe's music choices in training camp, they did not, in fact, use it optimally. Craig Berube's new rule has alternatively instilled a more serious approach to training, which is arguably the team's biggest flaw. No player can rely on a beat blasting through speakers, instead keeping their ears on the listen for pucks hitting the board, skaters approaching behind them, and instructions coming from the ice or the bench. Now, with Sheldon Keefe's policies officially out in the dust, hopefully, the Maple Leafs have a chance to become the serious team their fans have wanted for decades.