In retrospect, there were signs. I succeeded, and I'm telling people 'you're capable of doing something in your life even if you have some big handicaps. I treated them with respect and listened to them, paying attention to their needs. Back then, Demers said, he hired people to help with the technical aspects of coaching and relied on secretaries and assistants to keep up with his correspondence. Two of the franchises Demers coached in the WHA were the Chicago Cougars and the Quebec Nordiques. Debbie suggested that he consult a psychiatrist, a suggestion that Jacques resisted. I just wanted my father to love me.”, “Now I was alone. The NHL has updated its Privacy Policy effective January 16, 2020. I'm liberated. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, the Stanley Cup Final logo, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and Stanley Cup Qualifiers name and logo, NHL.TV, Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL. NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. Demers disclosed in his 2005 autobiography that he was functionally illiterate, a result of a traumatic childhood with an alcoholic father who beat him and his mother. As a Canadian senator, a position to which he was appointed four years ago to represent the Conservative Party, Demers has worked to fight illiteracy. Once he was hockey's golden boy, leading the Montreal Canadiens to Stanley Cup victory in 1993 and twice named coach of the year. She’s been with me ever since – protecting me. How does a young boy live with this and grow up to become a successful coach in the world’s most elite hockey league? Demers’ involvement with the Maccabiah has its roots in the strong friendships he has enjoyed with the Montreal Jewish community. “My former brother-in-law, Wilson Church, was involved in Junior B hockey, and they needed some coaches.”. Many noted, however, that it was "important that he learn to read. If people found out that I was illiterate, I would have been kicked out of the league.”. Many noted, however, that it was "important that he learn to read. Lost in conference quarter-finals (3-4 vs. All rights reserved. "My personality is such I'm always kind of happy, my personality is I'm not moody," he said. This honour is voted by hockey journalists for coaches who have the most improved team. When Demers would come to buy a car, he would bring his checkbook and tell Eltes to fill in a fair amount. Reply Subscribe . “When you have that problem, people think you’re dumb and stupid.”. Don't beat them up. But coming clean publicly “has been a big plus for me,” Demers said. “I was afraid that if I told her, she’d leave me”. According to the CBC report, he has "raised awareness about literacy issues" by "going public with his own struggles." Jacques was terrified. He worked with Mario Leclerc for three years to create a 584 page book that he cannot yet read. The revelation comes in a biography released Wednesday called 'Jacques Demers From A To Z'. It will be his second Maccabiah coaching appearance for Canada; in 1997, he guided the open division squad to a gold medal. While accepting congratulations and best wishes, the beaming Jacques Demers was worried. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jacques Demers to discuss how he lived with his “handicap”, and the forthcoming May release of the English version of his biography written by Mario Leclerc of Le Journal de Montreal. There is still time for Afternoon Tea Service before the Queen Elizabeth Hotel makeover, Geneviève Cadieux – until December 20, 2020 at 1700 La Poste, A Ride to Remember: One Montreal family takes life by the handlebars, and raises funds for brain research, Trottier Family Foundation gift empowers Montreal’s most affected communities to fight COVID, It is summer in Burlington Ontario when the waterfront and downtown come to life, A refuge awaits in Quebec City: The Monastère des Augustines, A drive to the Reford Gardens/Les Jardins de Métis, New Year's Eve Party - December 31, 2019 -Montreal Old Port, The Planets by Holst – October 13, 2020 Online, Tim Dugger – October 13, 2020 at 8:00pm Online, Celtic Colours International Festival – October 9-17, 2020, Tim Dugger - October 13, 2020 at 8:00pm Online, Celtic Colours International Festival - October 9-17, 2020, Just for Laughs - October 9-10, 2020 Online, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma - October 7-31, 2020, Wagner Week at the Met - October 5-12, 2020 Online, Anthony McGill - October 8, 2020 at 7:30pm Online, Duke Eatmon is “Mr. We encourage you to review it carefully. Can you imagine standing in the national spotlight, clinging to secrets even your family doesn’t share?”, In that December interview with his friend, Jacques confides; “My goal is, within a year, to be able to write my first letters – to all the people that helped me without realizing it”, he said. Doug Gilmore, Steve Yzerman, and Vincent Lecalvalier are some of the players I helped to become better men – in addition to being great hockey players.”. His father was a violent man, who unfortunately could not overcome his alcoholism. Over 300 friends, family members and media people attended the Bell Centre press conference last November. Additionally, he was the exceedingly popular coach of the Indianapolis Racers, which won the Eastern Division championship under his guidance. He is the only person to win the award in consecutive years. “Mitch is a very special man. I couldn’t concentrate in school.” Jacques recounts in the book how he asked his sisters to help him with his school work. Demers had fooled his hockey colleagues, too. “This is your Stanley Cup. "I hired Cliff Fletcher and Jay Feaster because I knew I couldn't do that. Senator Demers represents the Conservative Party in the Senate.[2]. posted by WeedyMcSmokey to hockey at 09:20 AM - 18 comments. This is your moment,” Lawrence Routtenberg, a right wing on the team, recalled Demers as saying. Demers had the opportunity to coach Wayne Gretzky in the 1979 WHA All-Star Series. TV, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, NHL Mascots, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, NHL Power Players name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. His illiteracy was part of the story - he says his upbringing meant he was too distracted to cope in school. The World Hockey Association was starting up, and Jacques moved into coaching at a professional level with the Indianapolis Racers in 1975. She died of cancer when I was sixteen. In 1998, the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning fired just about everyone except for Coach Demers. “I think it was on adrenaline because there’s so much go, go, go in hockey.”. “I was speaking in Pointe-Claire recently, and a gentleman working in an organization to help illiterate people said that their calls had gone up by 300% since I went public.”, Jacques says, “I’ve been told that people write books to get even, or to make a lot of money.” “In my case, I hope that I’ll be able to help other people, and to shed light on the damage that abusive parents inflict on their children. The telephone was passed to Demers and the match was made. In retrospect, there were signs. "I never want to look at it as it's me me me, it's not about me. "It's amazing it's led people to come forward, but it's also we're all scared to express ourselves because if we do, we're all scared of the backlash," he said. On August 27, 2009, he was nominated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to fill the Canadian Senate seat vacated by Yoine Goldstein. This page was last modified on 3 December 2015, at 19:42. And until about a decade ago, he would have been unable to read the words in this article. When he addressed his Maccabiah team before it took the ice against the United States in the gold medal game in 1997, Demers dangled his country’s most cherished sports motif as a carrot for the players. Jacques Demers (born August 25, 1944) is a Canadian senator and a former head coach in the World Hockey Association and in the National Hockey League. The format of the series was a three-game set that pitted the WHA All-Stars against HC Moscow Dynamo. I didn't want to go back to that, that's the only thing I knew because of no schooling.". Only two years later, however, the Canadiens missed the playoffs altogether for the first time since 1970. He revealed that the cause of his illiteracy was an impoverished childhood, where his father beat and psychologically abused him and his mother. Demers led the Montreal Canadiens to an unlikely Stanley Cup title in 1993. I was available to them for advice and to listen for off-ice issues as well. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. A series of Montreal residents were interviewed regarding his Senate appointment and they were generally positive about the move. “Sometimes I wonder how I was able to coach,” Demers said. As it turned out, they did most of the work a general manager would normally do because he knew he couldn't do it himself. According to Demers, he never really learned to read or write because of his abusive childhood in Montreal. They’re the ones who believed in themselves, and went out every night and played their hearts out”, “I always believed in being supportive of my players – perhaps because it was something I didn’t receive from my father. I'd go to school and I couldn't learn anything. [3] The line did not score in the final game, but the WHA won by a score of 4–3. 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