Dave Paul Hockey coach David Currie suspected something “funny” was going on. Some parents of players on the peewee house league team he coached – the Giant Tigers – were quizzing him on topics they hadn’t broached before.
Dave Paul
Hockey coach David Currie suspected something “funny” was going on.
Some parents of players on the peewee house league team he coached – the Giant Tigers – were quizzing him on topics they hadn’t broached before.
“They were asking how long I’d been coaching … if I’d ever been nominated for an award. Just asking some odd questions,” recalls Currie. “I knew they must be up to something.”
Currie found out two months later the Coaches Association of Ontario (CAO) had selected him as the male winner of the 2016 Ontario Coaching Excellence Award, grassroots category.
He was one of 11 Ontario coaches honoured at a gala event in Toronto last month.
Currie, 37, said to be recognized among so many great mentors was a surprise.
“They (the players and parents) probably thought it would be a nice gesture just to nominate me,” said Currie, who is beginning his seventh year of coaching – the last five years as a head coach.
A three-minute video prepared for the award ceremony and featuring compelling testimonials from players and parents confirms the CAO made a great choice.
Most of those interviewed emphasize how Currie makes the game “fun,” but he’s also described as “nice”, “fair”, “a great teacher” and someone who “treats everyone the same.”
Currie said it’s important that players on his team enjoy their time at the rink. It’s also part of his philosophy that every player gets a chance to play different positions.
“That way they know,” he said. “They can choose where they want to play.
“The kids don’t always have a choice,” he added. “Sometimes a coach plays them where he wants them to play and they’re not happy.”
Among the ways Currie kept things fun for last year’s peewee team – he’s moving up to bantam this season as his son, Dawson, turns 13 – was by giving each member a superhero nickname.
He also took measures to make sure players felt happy away from the arena.
One player had played travel hockey the year before and had, to his disappointment, been instructed not to swim between games. Currie turned the tables and joked with him that he had to swim between games or he wouldn’t play the following week.
“He was actually our only goalie, so he was going to play anyway,” concedes Currie.
The happy atmosphere paid off. The Giant Tigers won the league title last year as well as the March break tournament. They also advanced to the provincial house league championships, where they tied twice and lost once in three games, all against teams from larger centres.
