A Vagabond Life
Stories From a Minnesota Hockey Coach
by Tom Peart

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When it comes to a career in coaching sports, there is no teaching without doing—and practice doesn’t just make perfect, it makes a whole life. In this heartfelt memoir, first-time author Thomas H. Peart recounts the story of his experiences growing up in Alexandria, Minnesota, playing hockey, joining the US Marine Corps, attending college, and eventually entering a lengthy and impressive career as a coach for high school, college, and professional hockey—both stateside and overseas—alongside a number of other sports. Beginning in childhood and throughout his life, all the way up to the moment of his authoring this very book, Peart’s career as a coach is a testament to the value of learning through experience, teaching with care and respect, and always remaining open to opportunity. A satisfying slice of life in the postwar American Midwest, this book will make a great addition to the shelves of Peart’s contemporaries, as well as anyone interested in the worlds of amateur and professional sports. Because those who do, teach—and those who teach, do.

https://www.thomaspeart.com/

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Thomas H. Peart is a born-and-bred Midwesterner, an ex-US Marine, and a veteran coach of hockey, softball, football, and soccer with a career spanning thirty-seven years. In his native Minnesota, he spent twenty-one years coaching girls’ and boys’ hockey, twelve years coaching college hockey for men and women, and three coaching senior women, before moving to England to coach professional men’s hockey for a year. His time coaching has always served as inspiration for him, in his life and his writing. He began sharing stories of his coaching on Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic, sparking his inspiration for this project. As a member of several hockey coaching associations from the local to the national level and with over fifty years of playing and coaching hockey under his belt, he hopes these stories will serve to inspire others interested in coaching. Thomas lives in Little Canada, Minnesota. Interested in getting in touch? You can reach him at @tompeart27 on Twitter, @thpeart on Instagram, or on Facebook under the name Tom Peart.

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Contributors

Author

Tom Peart

Editor

Chris Middlebrook

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