When Al Sims was rehired as Komets coach last June, a lot of Internet prognosticators were worse than skeptical.


“How this guy got another job in hockey is beyond me.”



“I'll give him a chance but his track record is way overrated because of his cup win in Fort Wayne.”



“Terrible choice for the Komets. They better hand him a stacked team because this guy can't recruit.”



“The Franke brothers have a bad history of living in the past, and I'm really afraid that is going to kill us this year. Players know what Al has, or better yet, hasn't done, recently and they don't want to play for him.”


But the prodigal coach returned with great success.

Sims had won only one playoff series since leaving the Komets in 1993, and the knock was that the younger players couldn't relate to him any more. Two people who never doubted Sims were Komets president Michael Franke and general manager David Franke.

“The important thing was that David and Michael had faith in me and let me alone to do my thing,” Sims said. “I think they trust me, and that's why they hired me and brought me back. It's just a very comfortable relationship and a trusting relationship that we're doing the best for the team at all times.”

And throughout the season, those with doubts were converted as the Komets posted their best record ever and won their sixth playoff championship.

“I was glad to answer the critics,” Sims said. “I know I'm a good coach, and I haven't had great teams to coach. I got blessed this year with a hell of a group. We didn't know what we had in October, but everybody improved and the veterans came on.”

There aren't a lot of examples in which a coach comes back to a place of former glory to succeed again. Among those who have tried, there's Joe Gibbs with the NFL's Washington Redskins, Bill Walsh with Stanford football, Earl Weaver with baseball's Baltimore Orioles, John Robinson with USC football, Billy Martin a million times with the New York Yankees and Phil Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Only Jackson has a chance to equal what Sims has done, and it took him three years on his second try to win a title. Sims did it in his first.

Sims was successful because he could do exactly what the doubters didn't believe: recruit, teach and inspire.

The Komets didn't have a stacked lineup because they started seven rookies most nights, all of whom improved significantly. Best of all, Sims had a wonderful perspective and believed in himself and his team.

When the Komets pulled away from the rest of the International Hockey League, he kept them inspired and focused by telling them to play to their own standard. They had to be accountable to each other first and the fans and the standings second. They pushed through the end of the season.

With his team struggling to score and trailing Port Huron 3-1 in the Turner Cup finals, Sims took all the pressure off by telling the Komets to concentrate on defense. Just keep the Icehawks' chances down and we'll get ours, he said. It was a remarkable piece of strategy.

That was great coaching, championship coaching.

“Here's the answer to all the doubters,” he said, “Al Sims holding the cup at center ice.”


“If and whenever the Komets win a championship with Sims as the coach, it'll be fun to see what the naysayers have to say then.”