Wild Coach of the Year

This year, we have renamed the Wild Coach of the Year to the Jeff Bahr Wild Coach of the Year.  

Jeff Bahr coached minor hockey in the Saskatoon Red Wing Zone 2004-06, the Saskatoon Wild Zone from 2006-14 and the GSHL 18U AA League 2014-17. He coached every year and level of hockey from Initiation to 18U. When Jeff's son completed his minor hockey career, Jeff went back to coaching in the Renegades Zone with his partner Shannon's children. Jeff also was an evaluator for the GSHL, Wild and other hockey zones for the past 15 years. Jeff received the Coach of the Year from the Saskatoon Wild Zone in 2014. Jeff had a passion and enthusiasm for minor hockey that few could match. This passion was evident to anyone who has observed him at the rink or outside the rink. Parents and players would stop to talk because he had touched their lives in some way during their minor hockey career. Jeff could recall any former players name, what team they played on and their interest's away from the rink and what their current and future plans were. His dedication was exceptional, as he began planning for the upcoming year almost as soon as the current year was finished. He volunteered countless hours by helping players develop not only hockey skills but life skills as well. He mentored other minor hockey coaches throughout his career, offering assistance with practice planning or an ear and advice when needed for problem solving. Jeff expected the best out of all his players but also gave his best each and every time at the rink. Jeff had the incredible ability to "connect" with his players. He was able to get players to believe they can succeed and to play outside of their comfort zone making them better players and better individuals. Jeff treated every family with respect, fairness and honesty. Jeff was one of the people who truly "got it". He realizes hockey was a means to create better "people" not just better players by learning life skills such as commitment, team work, honesty, accountability, discipline, hard work, respect, confidence, sportsmanship, enthusiasm & passion. There were a number of Jeff's players who continued their hockey career past their minor hockey days, but all of them will all remember the lessons learned while playing for a coach like Jeff Bahr. He embodied all of those traits we would like our children to have.  Jeff passed away this past November. He was taken from us at such a young age but his memory will live on through the impact he had on so many hockey families.

We are honoured to present the first Jeff Bahr Wild Coach of the Year award to Mike Gust U18B

A small excerpt from the nomination:

A parent wrote: We have known Mike since our son began hockey in 2014. He has continued to commit his time to grow and learn with the boys as they have moved from initiation to U18 hockey. His passion for the game is evident to all as soon as you meet him. Mike is everything you want in a coach - compassionate, committed and driven. He is easy to talk to and open and honest with all communication of his expectations for both players and parents each season. He has committed so much time to this zone and to the players, his hard work deserves to be recognized.

A player wrote:  He’s a great coach who wants to win and have great team success, but even more than that he’s always there for the team and the players to make sure everyone is doing good and having fun while playing the sport they love.
 

Thank you Mike!