Departing coach Kevin Fitzpatrick will stay with the Applejacks as general manager during league restructuring [Will Sloan / the observer]
“It was just time,” said Fitzpatrick, who will retain a position as general manager while the league undergoes reconstruction. “I found last year, with my travel schedule with work and other commitments, it was a drain.”
Rob Way, assistant coach for the 2012-2013 season, is stepping into the position, and Fitzpatrick said he’s the right man for the job.
“The biggest thing I saw him bring this year was his enthusiasm,” said Fitzpatrick. “I’ve known Rob for a long time. We played Junior B together – that’s a long time ago. He really wanted to take over as head coach … and I think he’ll do a great job. He knows the system, he knows what the team is about.”
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“It was a very participatory coaching staff,” said Rob Way. “Kevin was always seeking input and allowed me free reign working with the defensemen.
Fitzpatrick intends to remain as GM while the Ontario Hockey Association realigns the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League to merge with the equivalent from Niagara District. Next season, the Jacks will play in a division with teams from Delhi, Norwich, Woodstock, Paris, Ayr, Tavistock, and New Hamburg.
“That’s going to be a huge change for us, and the local rivalry with New Hamburg should be interesting,” said Fitzpatrick.
Way spent years prior to his association with the Jacks coaching Waterloo Minor Hockey, and the past year has prepared him for the Junior league’s new challenges.
“The biggest thing to understand is, these kids at this point in life have other things – university, home, girlfriends,” said Way. “When they’re in minor hockey when they’re growing up, they’re pretty focused on hockey and that sort of life. As they get older and they get to college or university, that’s a juggling act for them.
Not that it’s always a challenge. Currently finalizing the rest of his coaching staff, Way is using last year’s positive experiences to outline goals for the 2013-2014 season.
“We want to continue to bring in great quality kids,” Way said. “We had a great dressing room atmosphere last year, and I really believe you can take a bunch of kids who get along really well and have a common goal, and as a total make them better than they might be individually.
“We really did a lot of that last year, and I think we need to build on that this year.”
