APPERT: “THE REASON I COACH IS TO HELP PLAYERS BETTER THEIR LIVES”
Jan 16, 2024
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
Seth Appert doesn’t remember his first win as head coach of the Rochester Americans.
“There’s a good picture after with Mairsy (Adam Mair) and Webby (Mike Weber), but I don’t remember who it was against,” said Appert.
It was against the Syracuse Crunch by way of a 4-3 overtime win on Feb. 10, 2021.
Appert didn’t remember the opponent, nor did he view that game as a personal milestone or accomplishment.
That same sentiment was felt 1,066 days later on Jan. 12, 2024, when the 49-year-old coach out of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, reached 100 wins behind the bench for the Amerks.
He is just the seventh coach in the near seven-decade history of the franchise to reach triple-digit win totals.
“I had no idea, quite frankly, that it was my 100th win.”
The fourth-year bench boss for Rochester entered the Sabres organization at a time in which the organization was undergoing vast change. Appert may not recall that first win, but he remembers the phone call that got him here and the opportunity presented at the time.
“I was excited about being part of building something. Everybody talked about how the Sabres weren’t in a very good spot as an organization, and that kind of excited me because I believed in Kevyn (Adams) as a human and the leadership and the vision he had, which was a massive piece of it, and it excited me that you could be part of changing a culture and taking an organization to a better place.”
Following the COVID-shortened season which did not involve playoffs, Appert led his team into the postseason the following year. A decisive Game 5 win over Utica in the opening round of the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs gave Appert his first playoff series win, as well as putting the Amerks into the second round of the postseason for the first time since 2005.
A season later, Rochester found itself in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in almost 20 years. In that same timeframe, the likes of JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Mattias Samuelsson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and several others have gone from prospects in the AHL to effective players in the National Hockey League.
Those same players who Appert groomed in the AHL showed their gratitude and appreciation for their former head coach during a post-game video montage that was waiting for Appert in the locker room following Friday’s win over Charlotte.
Even Casey Fitzgerald, a player Appert commonly referred to as one of his first “culture drivers”, made an appearance in the video testimonials despite now being a member of the Checkers.
“That was really special,” said Appert referring to the video, “and making it even more special was seeing that particular group of guys.”
The culture has changed, and the organization is most certainly in a better place.
Appert has been coaching, both as an assistant and as a head coach, for nearly three decades. Things change over time, and while the bench boss fondly referred to as ‘Apps’ acknowledges his evolution as a coach, he also believes that the core principle of what he does and has done remains the same.
“Coaching is coaching, no matter if you’re coaching kids or adults. You’re teaching, you’re challenging, and you’re trying to maximize the relationships you have to get players and humans to improve or change their habits, behaviors, and actions to make themselves and our team better.”
“The reason I coach is to help players better their lives. I coach for relationships. That’s what drives me. I coach for guys who want to pursue their dreams. I want to make their lives better, not just their hockey lives better.”
For Appert, wins are important for the team, not for himself. Appert instead recollected on the moments that came from the wins.
He thinks back to the big wins, like Game 5 in Utica in 2022, then a year later in overtime against Syracuse in front of packed War Memorial Arena littered with hundreds of Amerks fans who made the short commute down the I-90 thruway.
He fondly remembers sweeping Toronto at home last spring in front of a raucous crowd at Blue Cross Arena.
But Appert also remembers the moments from certain games, like two seasons ago when nine defensemen had dressed for a game, including Nick Boka, who had to play forward, or when the team signed Ben Holmstrom to a tryout contract telling him he would only play 12 minutes when he ended up playing almost double that in his first game with the team.
He remembers his team singing country songs on the way home from a gritty, tough road victory.
These are the moments that resonate with the head coach of the Rochester Americans. Appert has come into an organization and put it in a better place.
It’s been a fun first 100 wins. Here’s to the next 100.