A local hockey coach is being celebrated for his innovative ways of giving back to his community.
Parry Sound’s A.J. Wheaton was named the Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s Coach of the Month for January.
The coach of Parry Sound Minor Hockey Club’s under-13 Team three, Wheaton’s efforts in adapting to COVID-era teaching methods definitely had a hand in his nomination.
In a call with MyParrySoundNow Wheaton said “Something I really did differently this year was sending weekly video messages home to the players trying to talk about different hockey strategies because truthfully at the arena, given the time restrictions and health measure it is impossible to really go over anything hockey wise”
“I think something that gets overlooked a lot would be not so much the physical aspect but the mental part of the game, I try to encourage a lot of the players to sit down and watch some hockey, there’s a lot on TV right now with the NHL back in full swing and there’s hockey on every single night and I really encourage the players to sit down and watch and notice what the best players in the world are doing and watch for their skills and what strategies teams are using in those sorts of things because I think that you can learn a lot from watching the game,” added Wheaton.
Asked what he would like to tell his students out there who cannot wait to get back o the ice with their teammates, Wheaton says; “Keep positive and stay the course and you know that we’re all in this together and I know that it’s tough for all of us not just in life but I know that when you love hockey as much as many of us do these are the things that once we get to get back to the rink will appreciate it so much more and if anything I can only hope that we will come back stronger as a hockey club and community in general.”