Congratulations Jason Arnold, our latest Elite Sportswear Coach of the Week winner. Below is the email we received from Tristan Waldock, telling us why Jason was so deserving of this award.

Hey mate, I was wanting to nominate some one for coach of the week, Jason Arnold. He is the coaching Director here in Edmonton for the Edmonton Australian Rules Football Club.

Jason has come on board with us this year and has lifted our team to the next level. We are only 4 years in and compete against 2 Calgary teams that have been around for 10 years and 5 vancouver teams that have been around for 15 years.

We have a tournament every year in Kelowna. This year we took it, beating all teams and bringing the cup to Edmonton! Its all due to Jason’s hard work, commitment to the club, growing the game here in Canada and building it around Canadians. This year we have 4 guys selected for the National team in the mens and 5 women in the women’s team. This is a first for our club to have any one selected in the national team as there are 25 clubs across Canada, with the biggest league out side Australia being in Ontario.

Another thing that we have achieved is the only Canadian player on the World Aussie Rules team is a local guy that plays here in Edmonton. I would love to talk to about it more and give you more info but a big part of where we are at now is due to this guy.

Cheers

Tristan Waldock Head Coach AFL Canada Northern Lights

If you would like to nominate a deserving coach, email gregor@theteam1260.com

Congratulations, Aaron Hansen, on being our latest Elite Sportswear Coach of the Week. Below is the email we received, nominating Hansen.

Hi Jason,

I would like to nominate a fellow named Aaron Hansen. Aaron is a young coach with the Mill Woods White Sox Little League team and an assistant with the sherwood park midget AAA Dukes…as well as a part time instructor at St FX baseball academy. Aaron, as of Wednesday, had his team advance to the Little League Nationals as the host team..which is being held in Edmonton in August.

I have known many coaches throughout my time in minor baseball in Edmonton, but never have I met a coach so determined to see his team succeed on so many levels…as friends, as team-mates and in life. He is more than an “x & o” coach and he looks into the players family, social and personal situation and more often than not he is able to get more out of the child both athletically and in day to day life. He has truly changed my child’s life. Coaches like this need to be honoured in anyway possible….so often its a thankless jobs but Aaron is truly one of the special ones and this nomination is my way of saying thank you…for being there for my family and for everyone else’s. HIs heart is huge, his knowledge of the game limitless and his passion unmeasurable.

This is a brief synopsis of him- a truly special person.

Thank you,

Paul

If you would like to nominate a deserving coach, email gregor@theteam1260.com

Congratulations, Rick Reiter, on being our latest Elite Sportswear Coach of the Week. Read why Rick was so deserving of his award.

Gregor,

I would like to nominate our Edmonton minor ball hockey coach, Rick Reiter, as coach of the week.

Rick has been coaching most of the boys on the current team since 1st year novice and now for the last two years in Atom. He is the ultimate coach that kids love to play with and for. He does exhibit very high qualities of integrity and has very high level of patience and understanding for the children. He inspires the kids and ultimately gets the highest performance out of all of them – win or lose. He teaches them the life skills such as sportsmanship and respect for others and most of all puts clear priority on having fun and more fun!!. With all the work he does he helps us, the parents, shaping the mental, emotional and physical development of the boys. His hard work and dedication, as well as the steady development of the boys paid ultimate result this past weekend. The Edmonton Atom Retro Oilers competed in the provincials in Calgary and through hard work did win the U10 Alberta Minor Ball Hockey Championship.

On behalf of all the boys and the parents I would like to nominate Rick for his hard work as coach of the week.

Thank you

Mike Dziarmaga

If you would like to nominate a deserving coach, email gregor@theteam1260.com to get your coach recognized

Jason,

I’m writing to you about a coach that I feel would be a good choice for coach of the week. His name is Richard Michael and he coaches my son’s ten year old baseball team in north Edmonton. This is my son’s first year in baseball and having Richard has been a blessing to both my son and our family. Richard spends no less than six days per week with not only my son’s team but his other child’s team.

What makes Richard so special and unique is that he spends the extra time with kids often he has optional practices to help kids work on hitting or pitching or just to hit them some fly balls. We are a hockey family for sure, but with the effort that both Richard and his wife have given my son has excelled to the point he made the all-star team this week again due to extra time that Richard spends with my son Reid. I know you have many coaches that deserve this award, I hope you will consider Richard Michael. Coming from a hockey coach, he is one of the true good guys who will stay all hours until the last child is too tired to swing the bat.

Thanks Jason, this is a great idea and way for you and the team to recognize some true community heroes.

Best wishes,

Rick Holmes

Congrats to your first Elite Sportswear Coach of the Week, Rod Ohlhauser. The following is the email we received outlining what made Rod our first winner.

Jason,

I would love to tell you about my 9 year old son’s baseball/hockey coach. Aidan has had the privilege of having Rod Ohlhauser as his baseball coach for the last 2 seasons and Novice hockey coach this past winter. Rod does a fantastic job of teaching the kids not only how to be a better player but also keeping the fun in the game.

During baseball season this year, my sons first year in minors, the competition level has been elevated substantially. The kids had to go through an evaluation day so that they could be drafted on to their team. Rod chose many players who were first year minors. At the start of the year this definitely hampered our wins and loses. In my opinion this didn’t matter and thankfully our coach agreed. He simply wanted to continue to work on making the players better and this came through hard work and practice. Rod gets it, at 9 or 10 it’s not about wins and loses it’s about learning the game and building a foundation. As a side note, our playoffs begin tonight and we are currently in 2nd place.

As I mentioned Aidan, my son, was also fortunate enough to have Rod as his Novice hockey coach. The team was tier 2 in the city so there was pressure from parents to compete at a higher level. Keep in mind this is Novice hockey. Again, Rod had the same approach. Progress through hard work and learning skills needed to get better at the game. The team started off slowly but throughout the season they grew stronger and stronger. Rod builds team and individual skills while maintaining a fun atmosphere for the kids. His goal is not wins but instead progression of skills and love of the game. It makes it easy for a parent to turn their child over to another adult for that 1to 2 hours 3i5 times a week when that adult is Rod. He is a great teacher and motivater as well as a great guy. All in all Rod gets it. These are simply young kids who love playing sports and Rod helps to foster that.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballance

Congrats Rod and we are proud to honour you as our Elite Sportswear Coach of the Week.

If you want to nominate a coach, send us an email to gregor@theteam1260.com