By Paul Osborne, Guelph Tribune Less than a month after major back surgery, there was Guelph Storm coach and general manager Jason Brooks riding shotgun with his father making the long trip to Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.  Is he unbelievably dedicated or simply crazy?

“I’ve always been a little bit of a ramrod” said Brooks with a laugh while on the way home from an impressive 5-2 win in the Sault.  “I’ve been known to be a little bit stubborn.”

But the truth is the ache of being away from the team has been greater than the excruciating pain along his spine.  Being forced to sit and watch on television or from high above the ice surface has been hard to stomach.

“It has been difficult” admitted Brooks.  “This is what I love to do but I also have to be careful because my surgery was to get me healthy for the rest of my life.  I have my wife Jessica and my girls Sidney and Kennedy to think about and I wasn’t much of a father when I was in so much discomfort before the surgery and on medication to combat that pain.”

During Brooks recovery period the Storm has actually fought their way back into the playoff picture.  There have been bad games along the way but overall, since goaltender Brandon Foote returned to the line-up January 8th they have forged a 12-7-1 record, even playing slightly over .500 on the road at 6-5-1 thanks to wins in Kitchener and the Soo this weekend.

For Brooks, the inability to make a significant contribution to the team has been one of the most frustrating experiences of his life.

“When I first got home (from surgery) I didn’t want to talk to the coaches during the game mainly because I was in and out of it with the drugs I was on” said the Listowel native.  “Then they would call me during intermissions and then I was able to watch home games (from a vacant private suite).  This weekend I wore a headset and was able to communicate directly with the coaches while the game was in progress.  I’m not sure if it was as a good thing or a bad thing but it was just so frustrating to see things happening and not being able to do anything about it.”

The other underlying pressure is that even by his own admission, the team has underperformed this season.  There is no doubt the time off has taken away from the continuity of the season so it is only natural the captain would want to get back to commanding his own ship and destiny.

“The coaches (Chris Hajt, Dave Milek and Brad Maxwell) have a done a very good job working with the team” he said.  “We’re now back in the race (one point behind Owen Sound for the final playoff spot with two games in hand and nine to play).  Chris has been thrown into the ring and while it is one thing to run the defence it is something else entirely to run the entire bench, all the systems and teaching players on the fly while making decisions about personnel and time outs during a game.  Its tough.  That is why I want to do what I can.”

Brooks admits he’s pushed himself to get back.  It was only a couple of weeks after surgery that he made a surprise appearance on the ice to run a practice.

“Yeah, I didn’t tell anyone I did that until afterwards” realizing that an errant shot or a simple bump could have undone all the work of the surgeon.  “When I told me family they all said “you’re an idiot” but then asked how I felt.  Luckily the pain wasn’t any greater but I was exhausted.”

So far the pain of standing behind the bench is intolerable but you can bet it won’t be long before Brooks has his hands fully on the tiller again.

From the Land of Oz….Guelph defeated Kitchener 4-3 in overtime Friday night thanks to two goals by Michael Latta including the winner in OT.  Saturday the team came out flat and lost 5-1 in Sudbury.  Sunday, Latta had two more goals, while Peter Holland had a real highlight goal and two helpers in the Storm’s 5-2 win over the Soo.  This week the Storm is home to Peterborough on Friday before tough road games in Plymouth and Saginaw Saturday and Sunday.  They had their success without leading scorer Taylor Beck who had his injured knee drained.  He is listed as day-to-day.