More Time in the Barn and Less Time at the Office is Part of How John Tortorella Has Evolved As a Head Coach

By Ben Jandrain on October 10, 2019 at 10:15 am
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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella had plenty to say during his 19-minute weekly conversation with Bob McElligott. Perhaps the most interesting topic of the conversation was Tortorella talking about his home office, the barn. 

"It was just me and the animals and (game) tape," Tortorella said, describing a productive day off at home during the week. 

Of course, Tortorella made sure to dish out more details as to why the barn is a fruitful workplace.

"While I'm working in the barn, I get a lot of things done that way. Not sitting in my office is just – when you're doing the work and no one's bugging ya and no one's talking to ya – you do – you get a lot of thinking done," Tortorella said. "As I've gotten older, that's more important to me than anything."

The head coach doesn't spend as much time at work in his office as he once did.

"I used to sit in my office all day long every day when I was a younger coach and you just burn yourself out from that same surrounding," Tortorella said.

Now, it's quality over quantity when it comes to the hours being logged as head coach for Tortorella.

"You listen to some people and they're talking about a coaching staff or a coach and how hard he's working, 'he's in his office 17 hours of the day.' Yeah, but how many quality hours are you getting out of that? That's where I've evolved." 

The Blue Jackets have their work cut out for them – getting off to a 1-2-0 start and their weekend opponents (the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes) combining for an overall record of 7-0-0.

Hopefully, for them, a little extra time at the barn for Tortorella will lead to some positive team results over the weekend.

"You don't always have to be in an office doing your work. Different surroundings I believe is really good." 

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