SEMI Hockey thanks all of our volunteers, especially those that have season after season, stepped up into very important roles in our association. Here are a couple of interviews we have conducted recently with a couple of outgoing volunteers:

Sean Seyler – Midget Division Manager:

How long have you been volunteering for SEMI Hockey: I have been the Division Manager for 7 seasons, plus helped out with the SEMI Hockey Christmas Challenge Tournaments in past years along side a few of them with Vernon D’Souza & Chris Dudra.

Do you have a highlight to share: My favorite highlight is meeting so many local SEMI Hockey families and getting to know all the players as they have come up through the ages of hockey. Its great being somewhere random in town and some young guy says, “hey Sean, how’s it going”.

Do you have any advice for other Division Managers or parents: My advice for parents and players is easy; do not get caught up in all the hype in the Initiation and Atom years, as in the later years of your child’s hockey career, the kids focus only on playing with their friends and rarely about making that special team. The best players in the early years quite often become average and the average players quite often become the best players, but all of that means nothing to your child, when on the road they meet at center ice after the final buzzer with a gold medal in hand. I always remind these guys one simple fact, later in life you will never remember the score of any game, but you will remember the times together whether it’s in the hotel, on a bus or in the change room, so cherish those moments most. Although I do look forward to taking a break after all these years, I will always be available if my phone rings to help out a new Division Manager in the years to follow and teach you how to send out over 1000 emails a season without getting blocked by Gmail and try not to send 25 families to the wrong rink!

Any other comments: I want to thank the countless hours from the many coaches and helpers along the way including so many parents during evaluations and the Christmas tournaments. Noting a special few in no particular order that were always at the rink helping, to start … my wife Darla Seyler, Chris Dudra, Todd Waterfield, Dave Markey, Indy Hundal, Jeff Black, Paul Corea, Sam Anderson, Robert White, Tamsin Lehn, Ann Davidson, Kulvir Gill, Susanne Spentzas, Vernon D’Souza, Joe Burbine, Chris Cheney, Dave Jones, Jim Bradley, Owen, Pamala Abiew, Mike Tan, Dean Roosdahl, Bruce Schappert, Larrisa Tratch, Chris Purcell, Andrew Drayson, Joe Gosal, Chris Bailey, Bill Dutrizac, Doug Neufeld, Steve Blyth, Anita Carew, Jackie Olive, Nadine Reaugh, Perry Jansen, Anthony Sawada plus many many more. All the best to you all and thank you again for the countless hours you have contributed to the best hockey association … SEMI Hockey.

Sam Anderson – Midget Head Coach

Thanks for asking and I do appreciate the support and appreciation, but not really looking for publicity. Coaching is its own reward.
How long have you been coaching for SEMI:   One year trainee (H4) + 1 year assistant (Atom) + 8 yrs head coach (Atom-Midget).
Do you have a highlight to share: Getting to know so many great kids and parents over the years, road trips and draft night in the OPL boardroom.
Do you have any advice for other coaches: Find 1 (or more) awesome and dedicated coaches and manager to work with through all your coaching years. It takes a team to run a team. Thank you Robert and Tamsin and many others who helped along the way. And thank you Sean for being such a great Division Manager for so many years.
Enjoy the highs. Brush off the lows. Remember your job is to instill in all your players a life long love of playing hockey. Winning helps, but not all wins appear on the scoreboard.
What will you do with all the free time you will have now: All the things I’ve avoided doing with coaching as my excuse!

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