There will be some new faces behind the benches of St. Albert's U15 AA hockey teams next season.
The league posted on Facebook that Joey Dvorak, Ryan Wheeler, and Kory Owens will step into the positions as the league looks to get going in the coming months.
The Raiders took on the search for coaches with the help of U15 co-ordinator Keith Waldbillig, who said they had a pool of eight applicants vying for the roles, but they were able to whittle them down to those three.
The interview process vetted each of them until the decisions were final. Waldbillig said there were a variety of factors they looked at when deciding.
“We don’t want a kid to make a team because his dad is coaching,” said Waldbillig. “All three are parent coaches, so we have to make sure their boys are in the top third of their team.
“We look to see if they have all their courses covered, how they interview, and what their past experience is, and then we ask them questions like, ‘How did you deal with conflict in the past with your hockey team?’ and stuff like that.”
Dvorak, who will be coaching the U15 AA Blues, has been involved in coaching both hockey and basketball for the past 18 years.
He said he is excited to get behind a double-A bench for the first time in his coaching career.
“Next week we are back at it with the tryouts but getting all the things organized like practice jerseys and getting tournaments organized has been a whirlwind, but a lot of fun,” said Dvorak.
Dvorak described himself as an intense coach who wants to push players to play their best. He hopes he will instill a respect-not-fear mentality when it comes to playing against opponents.
“I do believe in coaching all the way through, so if a play goes wrong, I want to ask them what they thought and their process,” said Dvorak. “I’m a big believer in fundamentals, so I’ll always do fundamentals at practice and the team is always the most important aspect to the game, so I am not one to shorten the bench ... I believe in equal playing time.”
Wheeler will take up the clipboard for the U15 AA Bears. This is also his first stint as a head coach at the double-A level and he said he’s grateful to be a part of an important year for these players.
“A lot of the first-years want to make U15 triple-A next year, and the second-years want to prep to get into U16 triple-A, and it's fun to be a part of that and help these kids,” said Wheeler.
Don’t let the first-year double-A coach label confuse you, as Wheeler has been coaching within St. Albert minor hockey for a few years. He said his coaching style will depend on the type of team he has and that he will be willing to change his style to suit the team.
“Sometimes you have to adjust your style for the different types of kids,” said Wheeler. “The most important thing is that every kid may not need to be coached differently, but you've got to realize quickly how these kids need to be coached because different kids need different things.”
Kory Owens will don the head coach title for the U15 AA Saints and is the experienced bench-boss of the group. He has been coaching the sport for 20 years and has been around leagues as high as junior B and as low as initiation.
He looks to be a demanding coach who expects a lot from his players on and off the ice.
“I take the viewpoint that we’re not only representing ourselves and our team, but our communities and our families,” said Owen. “I really try to hold my players accountable for their actions and that they are always making good choices on and off the ice.”
Owen is coming off a season where his team didn’t get to play a single game due to COVID, so he hopes it is different this time around.
“It’ll be nice to get some preseason games going and get some goals set with the group,” said Owen.
