Mount Saint Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, is the Los Alamos of hockey. A small school in a small town in a famously small state, it has for decades been a virtual secret laboratory for creating hockey players, winning regional championships for twenty-seven straight years, and sending player after player to the NHL. But no parent or reporter had ever been allowed to witness a practice or enter the locker room, until veteran sportswriter John Gillooly was given complete access for one year.
The result is a chronicle of a year in sports unlike any other. Gillooly watched the practices, rode the bus, hung out in the locker room after defeats and triumphs. He spoke with the parents and the former players now competing for the Stanley Cup. He talked hockey for hours with kids who have dreamed all their lives of playing for coach Normand "Bill" Belisle. Mount Saint Charles hockey is in many ways the story of one man: Coach Belisle. Gillooly found a coach who made cuts in thirty minutes - who had even cut his own son after only a day. His practices were notoriously hard, so hard that many excellent players were too timid to try out. Bobby Orr, now a scout, might show up at a game but wouldn't want to bother Belisle and would hang furtively in the shadows. It was a team where future NHLers would linger for three years on junior varsity. In many ways, Bill Belisle (with his son and assistant coach Dave) is Mount Saint Charles hockey. It is he who instills in his players that intangible he calls "Mount Pride."


Mount Saint Charles Academy is the Los Alamos of hockey. A small school in a small town in a famously small state, it has for decades been a virtual secret laboratory for creating hockey players, winning regional championships for twenty-seven straight years, and sending player after player to the NHL. But no parent or reporter had ever been allowed to a practice or in the locker room, until veteran sportswriter John Gillooly was given total access for one year.
The result is a year in sports unlike any other. The story of Mount Saint Charles is in many ways
the story of one man, the coach, Normand "Bill" Belisle, now in his seventies. Gillooly watched
the practices, rode the bus, hung out in the locker room after defeats and triumphs. He spoke with
the parents and the former players now competing for the Stanley Cup. He talked hockey for
hours with kids who have dreamed all their life of playing for Belisle.
Gillooly found a coach who made cuts in thirty minutes--who even cut his own son after only a
day. His practices were notoriously hard, so hard that many excellent players were too timid to try
out. Bobby Orr, a scout, might show up at a game, but wouldn't want to bother Belisle, and would
hang furtively in the shadows. It was a team where future NHLers would linger for three years on
junior varsity.
Here for the first time is the inside story of this legendary hockey coach, a must-read for every
player and fan.