At Flyers practice today, coach John Tortorella delivered an instant-classic speech about his coaching strategy, and taking criticism for pushing his players too much.
Off the bat, Tortorella recognized the criticism that players will quit on him because they become tired of his tirades. Instead of apologizing though, Tortorella doubles down on his philosophy, saying he'll never tolerate quitters and he'll never quit himself. At the end of the day, Tortorella explained his bold recent actions coming from a place of pride for his Flyers team who have surprised everyone by becoming a legitimate playoff threat. Tortorella said that now his problem is that he needs the team to realize the gravity of their situation, and give everything they can do be better. To he critics and detractors doubting him and the team, Tortorella says «so be it.»
In this incredible speech, Tortorella backed his unusual coaching strategies with incredible conviction. Sure he may get carried away sometimes, but his job is to squeeze the absolute best out of professional athletes - and he's done just that by dragging a rebuilding Flyers team to a playoff spot. Hopefully Tortorella's speech today re-ignites the team down the stretch and they're able to hold on to their spot, as they're just one point away from falling out of the wild card.