A New England hockey legend, Scott Fusco spent a decade removed from the game he loves, but has re-energized his hockey passion as founder and manager of the Edge Sports Center in Bedford, Mass.
The Burlington, Mass., native who starred at Belmont Hill School then won the 1986 Hobey Baker Award at Harvard directs the two-rink facility while overseeing the East Coast Wizards youth hockey program. It’s quite a change of pace for the former senior vice president of Software Quality Partners, a large regional IT consulting company.
Fusco sat down with New England Hockey Journal recently to chat hockey.
Billy Jaffe: What was your goal when you opened the Edge Sports Center?
Scott Fusco: Our goals were twofold. One, we already had a strong girls program and two, we wanted to develop players in the area. The focus was on development of youth players. We were not worried about wins and losses. We want to develop kids the right way. No matter what team or level you are on, you have the right to be developed. All of our players get the same coaching, no matter what league, level, et cetera they are playing in.
Jaffe: How many kids do you have in the program?
Fusco: We have 43 teams spilt between boys and girls, from age 5 to juniors — under 20 years old. We have over 800 players total.
Jaffe: You are involved significantly in girls hockey. Why?
Fusco: My three daughters played hockey and the East Coast Wizards originally was a girls program. I started coaching U-10 girls and fell in love with coaching girls. There is a cerebral approach to hockey in the girls game that is enjoyable. They want to know the “why” and the “how” and I enjoy that.
Jaffe: Where have you seen the most development in girls hockey?
Fusco: The overall amount of skilled players is high. Girls have closed the gap a lot on the boys. The way you coach and teach the game for the girls now is more similar. Basically, the number of skilled players has exploded — which is also similar to boys — and the next layer of good players is very large now.
Jaffe: Anything you would like addressed when it comes to girls hockey?
Fusco: We’re pretty lucky in Massachusetts hockey, as girls hockey is well-established here. But other areas need to develop more. We coach our boys and girls program the same way. That’s been a big leap and big part of our success. Just like the boys, we expect our girls to work hard and compete.
Jaffe: You started planning the Edge in 2005 and opened it in November 2007. What expectations did you have, and have you met those expectations?
Fusco: It is what we hoped it would be. We had a vision and we have gotten close to that vision. We have had players come through who have played in college and pro leagues. We are known as a program that develops good players. We have a good culture and are competitive. The culture is sane and stable. It’s a happy place to play and we have achieved a lot of what we hoped for.
Jaffe: What are your thoughts on the state of youth hockey in Massachusetts?
Fusco: There’s a lot of good to it with good people doing good things and trying to grow the game. There’s also way too much churn of players moving around to the “next best thing” or looking for the “magic ticket.” People need to take the longer view to playing hockey and eliminate the jumping to other places. Oftentimes, players who move around are not better off because there’s no consistency of the message and it hurts the development. Hockey is a five-, 10-, 20-year process that requires consistent development no matter who the player is.
Jaffe: How has it been dealing with parents?
Fusco: Most of our parents have been great, though the few problems you have do overshadow the good you have. For most part, we try to run a fair and honest program. We put players on teams where they can be most successful, but parents don’t always agree with that. If players are developing and happy, then things usually go well. But we understand that things don’t always work out and we deal with situations when they do arise.
Jaffe: After playing at Harvard and then the 1988 USA Olympic team, you were basically out of hockey. Did that break from the game help you when you decided to get back in?
Fusco: Yes. I had nothing to do with hockey for 10 years, then got back into it at the “learn to play” level. It gave me better perspective, as my goal was never to be a professional player. I played it because I liked it and I always just wanted to play because it was fun. You take the lesson you learn from hockey — like being a good teammate — and use that when move on to something else. Hopefully in our program that’s exactly what we are doing, and helping prepare the kids to be successful in life.
Jaffe: Where did you learn your creativity as a player?
Fusco: My coaches always let me play. They never put restrictions on me. Yes, they taught me when to be safer with the puck, but that was it. I always have had the ability to see things unfolding in every sport I played. I’m not musical nor artistic, but can understand sports in a 3-D way that always came naturally for me. In addition, growing up I just played town hockey. I was the best player on my teams growing up and had the puck on my stick a lot. I made lots of mistakes, but I learned from my mistakes. I was able to have lots of repetitions and that was key, too.
Jaffe: What’s your best memory from Burlington town hockey?
Fusco: We won the Pee-Wee state championship over Stoneham. Joe Keohane was the coach. Stoneham beat us 80 percent of the time but this time our team of 12-years-olds somehow managed to win. We climbed the mountain and it was very satisfying.
Jaffe: What’s your take on the NHL right now?
Fusco: There’s so much speed and skill right now. I would like to see some more goal scoring, but the game is exciting, much more so than 20 years ago. I like the players’ backgrounds from all around the world. And I like the skilled guys like Crosby and McDavid who make their teammates more successful.
