At the time of Walsh's suspension, Cronin was exactly what this team needed,
as he cared deeply about the emotional welfare of the team, and he gave of
himself unselfishly.  The time came, (as all you parents know), when it was
time to stop holding the hand and start kicking the backsides.
 
One of Walsh's great strengths is his ability to look at any given situation,
break down the parts, see what needs improvement and motivate whomever to get
the job done.  I believe you are seeing the results of that.  He doesn't
spend a heck of a lot of time determining if someone needs a shoulder to cry
on, although I have seen him take enormous amounts of time and energy keeping
these kids on track when he sees it will benefit the team.
 
I fully expect the team to go the rest of the season winning.  That has as
much to do with the attitude of the team as it does with Walsh.  For whatever
reason, sometime in December I noticed a profound change in attitude in key
players on the team, Reggie Cardinal for one.  With all the attention given
to Coach's return, that aspect has gone significantly unnoticed.
 
Maybe now, with everyone and everything back to "normal" our attention can
re-focus on this terrific team.  I have been around a long time, and will
tell you I have never seen such development of character as in this team.
 That, in part, is the legacy of Cronin.  What they do with it is theirs.