The NAIT Ooks men’s hockey team has a new head coach, and the shoes have been filled by someone who has walked the halls of NAIT before — Ty Valin, a NAIT grad and former Ooks athlete.
Valin played hockey for the Ooks from 2003 to 2005. He was also assistant coach to the men’s hockey team for the 2016-17 season, where he helped bring the Ooks to the Alberta Collegiate Association Conference (ACAC) finals.
“I had really good experiences as a player and as a coach, and I always wanted to be part of the program again.”
Valin told the Nugget that it’s “a huge honour” to be back at NAIT after being a student, player and coach.
“I had really good experiences as a player and as a coach, and I always wanted to be part of the program again,” he says. “My career took me in different provinces and different leagues, and then finally I was able to come back to the Edmonton area … then this came along, and it was a no-brainer for me.”
Gaining experience as an Ook
After graduating from NAIT’s Engineering Design and Drafting Technology program, Valin went on to play hockey professionally before starting his leadership and coaching career. Some of his previous roles include head coach for the Northern Manitoba Blizzard and the Fernie Ghostriders.
“As a player, I always said I would never coach,” he says. He explains that another Ooks Hockey Alumni Association member was coaching a team in Fort Saskatchewan and got him involved. After that, he says, “the rest has been history.”
He says working alongside former Ooks men’s hockey head coach Tim Fragle gave him “a wealth of knowledge” that he still uses today.
“The biggest thing I noticed from [Fragle] was how he connected with his athletes,” says Valin.
“He respected them, he treated them like adults and they gave him that respect back.”
“These guys work extremely hard on a daily basis…”
The future is bright
Valin already has some experience coaching some of the current Ooks roster, and he’s looking forward to building relationships with the rest of the team. Though hockey is important, school comes first, he says. The Ooks men’s hockey team keeps a high GPA, and Valin’s goal is to maintain that.
“For me personally, that would be a really big feat,” he says. He’s also hoping to get fans in the stands to support the Ooks.
“These guys work extremely hard on a daily basis, a lot of times they’re at the rink ‘til eight, nine o’clock at night after practices, then they go home and do homework,” says Valin. “They put a lot of work in for the school, so let’s get some fans out there and let’s see where we can go this year.”
The Ooks will play their home opener against the Portage College Vikings on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.
This article was originally published in our Sept. 9 print issue.
Feature Image via NAIT
