By Joe Smith (The Athletic)

Twenty years ago, a couple dozen hockey players and their parents piled into the Lansing Catholic High School cafeteria.

They took their seats at long, rectangular tables and scanned the room. Cougars blue was splashed all over the 30-year-old private school, from the lockers to stripes on the floor. The smell of food lingered from lunchtime. It was quiet, other than the hum from nearby vending machines.

The guest speaker was a 32-year-old lawyer named Jon Cooper. He stood on the carpeted stage and tried to command the crowd. His black hair was slicked back, his smile warm and inviting, masking the anxiety coursing through the body of this first-time hockey coach.

Click here to continue reading on The Athletic.