Spartan Profiles: Jeff Jackson
LEADING FORCE IN USA HOCKEY
Except for a few triumphs--most notably Olympic wins in 1960 and 1980-- American hockey has not excelled with consistency in international competition. That could change, thanks to the efforts of Jeff Jackson, '77, named in 1996 as national coach and senior director of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. 'I consider myself a patriot,' says Jackson. 'We're the United States. We should be the best.'
He knows what it takes to be the best, having led Lake Superior State to NCAA championships in 1992 and 1994. Now top players from around the U.S. form two teams, under-18 and under-17, and train under him in Ann Arbor's Ice Cube while attending high school. 'We teach hockey,' says Jackson, 'but more importantly, we emphasize character development. Our main objective is to build values--like leadership, responsibility and accountability--things you need for success in the future.'
A test for Jackson's program will be December's World Junior Championships in Manitoba and April's World Under-18 Championship in Fussen, Germany. 'We'll find out how good we are when we play Sweden, Finland, Russian, Czech Republic and Canada,' he says. 'Now that the Olympics have gone pro, these are the pinnacles of amateur hockey.'
MSU hockey fans already admire Jeff's work, having seen the poise of freshmen Joe Goodenow, Adam Hall, Andrew Hutchison and Jon Insana--all USA Hockey players turned Spartans. 'I'm proud to be a Spartan,' says Jeff, who admits he was only an 'average' player while in college.
His coaching success, he says, came from his 'love and passion for hockey.' In 1990, he did return to MSU as Ron Mason's assistant coach--for just a few days, until LSU hired him as head coach. 'I took the (MSU) job because Ron has a great reputation for placing his assistants in head coaching jobs,' he recalls with a chuckle. 'In my case, it took him one week!'