Being an AGM in the M

[Berocka 2,263]

At the beginning of S67 Radcow the first AGM of the Mississauga Hounds had to step down due to other duties. This left an opening for the assistant to GustavMattias, which was filled with a lot of great candidates. After a bit of deliberation GustavMattias chose myself as the AGM.

 

After only a season in the VHL I was certainly surprised to be selected as the AGM and was quite honoured to be chosen. Then started a crash course on what was needed/expected as an AGM. What surprised me most was the role of AGM wasn't very set in stone for the responsibilities.

 

This led me to investigate what happens around the league with AGMs and GMs in the VHLM.

 

I did a small investigation where I questioned three AGMs and three GMs thank you to all who answered but I will keep all anonymous as to not cause any unnecessary drama. Firstly I will look at the AGMs then we will move onto the GMs.

 

The three questions asked of the AGMs were:

 

1) What is your main responsibilities?

2) What do you think you could do more of?

3) Would you like to be GM if a spot opened right now?

 

What I found was that these answers were extremely different from each person. The main responsibilities of an AGM appears to be to fill in the gaps of the GM. Some are hired as a locker room presence and support system for the team. Others are hired for their analytical knowledge and helping for scouting and drafting. It appears that the right AGM is one that can compliment the GM and be a great management team. Some things that AGMs wanted to improve on was locker room presence and the hiring of free agents. The third question provided the most surprising results. Only 1 out of the 3 AGMs questioned want to be a GM if a spot opened up. This could be some AGMs haven't been in the job long enough.

 

Now we move onto the questions asked to the GMs:

 

1) What do you expect from an AGM?

2) What would you look for in hiring an AGM?

3) Do you think AGMs are needed?

 

The three GMs were mostly in agreement with most of the questions. 

 

It is expected of an AGM to be there to learn the role of being a GM and helping with all aspects of the job. They want the AGM to be able to pick up the job in case the GM is unavailable.

 

When looking for an AGM all GMs look for consistency in how active the person is. It is also important that they have the right mentality being a strong positive locker room presence.

 

The last question I asked to get an honest opinion all GMs agreed it's not necessary. Thy can all handle the job by themselves. The only thing that was mentioned if there is a young team having another person to assist with questions is a big help for the team.

 

So that is an insight into the opinions of some AGMs and GMs of the VHLM.

 

I agree with most points brought up in this study. I think that the consensus is AGMs aren't needed and the league would not change if they were to disappear overnight. Though the position serving as a stepping stone so future GMs do have a bit of training could be a positive for the league but further research would be required to show that.

 

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