Dennis Vowles has coached with the Gloucester South Raiders Bantam team (2014-2016), St. Francis Xavier High School (2016), Cumberland Panthers JV (2016) and Cumberland Panthers Senior Varsity (2017). He is currently taking a break for the fall and assisting the Raiders on a part-time basis. Vowles played many sports growing up, such as hockey, rugby, golf, volleyball and football. He started playing football at St. Matthew High School and then played for the Ottawa Sooners Midget team. Eventually, Vowles went on to play for St. Francis Xavier University as a middle linebacker. Vowles decided that he wanted to start coaching after watching his nephews playing. “I came home that night, after a day of watching minor football, and spoke to my very supportive wife and she said, ‘Well research which teams are close to the house.’ Sure enough when I realized I lived in South Gloucester, the Raiders were where I began my hunt. That evening I learned that one of my high school coaches was the head coach. I approached Tristano in 2014 and the rest is history.” explains Vowles. Vowles’ favourite aspect of coaching is “the opportunity to help youth and be a person they can not only come to for football related questions but questions about life. At times our athletic lives collide with our personal lives and its during these times when these young men and women need someone to talk to.” Vowles’ most rewarding moment as a coach was winning the Bantam title last year with the Gloucester South Raiders. “We all worked towards the ultimate goal which is a championship and I think when you achieve that as a coach it's a major highlight.” says Vowles. Check out HESN's highlight from the 2016 Bantam Championship: The biggest challenge that Vowles has faced is balancing his work schedule and personal life around football. “Luckily I have a great wife and extended family that support me and my coaching endeavours.” says Vowles. Do you know of or are you a coach in the Ottawa area? HESN wants to hear from you, contact us at mia@houseedgemedia.com.
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Mike Schmidt is currently a coach for the Cumberland Panthers. Schmidt played many sports growing up including football. He played for the East Gloucester Bengals, Gloucester Dukes and Junior Riders from ages 10 to 20. After his playing days were over, Schmidt didn’t want to be removed from a sport that taught him so many life lessons, created lifelong friendships and providing lasting memories. “As I continue coaching for all these years, football is still teaching me, providing me with great friendships and fantastic memories.” says Schmidt. Schmidt says his favourite thing about coaching is the moment when a player gets it. “For our young players, football is a very hard sport to understand at first. There is always a moment early in the season when you can see them come together as a team. At that point it becomes all about the making them better football players and perfecting their position.” explains Schmidt. Schmidt recently had a very rewarding moment as a coach, winning the 2017 OPFL Championship with the Junior Varsity Panthers team. “The majority of these player were on the 2015 OVFL Bantam Varsity team that fell short of winning the Championship in 2015.” explains Schmidt. Check out this video of the winning touchdown from the 2017 JV Championships: Though, the most rewarding moment for Schmidt is being able to share the game with his two sons. “Having both of my sons enjoying the game at such a young age and knowing they will be able to benefit from all football has to offer is something that I am very happy I can share with them for the rest of their lives.” says Schmidt. Schmidt says that the biggest challenge as a coach is staying current. “Whether it is adapting to how the game is evolving or how we interact with our players and families involved. We want to get the best out of our players and have them achieve the most success within our systems. This is a daily challenge and I try to stay current by doing a lot of reading, and constantly speaking with other coaches about our game and what works and doesn’t work for them. I have some great coaching mentors that have been very influential to me and I always try to surround myself with the best coaches for our team.” Do you know of or are you a coach in the Ottawa area? HESN wants to hear from you, contact us at mia@houseedgemedia.com. Carl-Andre Potier is a coach for the Bell Warriors Bantam team. He played football growing up all the way to university. He played for the Western Mustangs at Western University. Potier says that football has been an extremely beneficial aspect of his life. “It has impacted me in so many ways and has made me the person I am today. Giving back to our youth is the least I can do to pay back my dues.” says Potier. Potier says that his favourite thing about coaching is seeing the players improve throughout the season, not just with their physical skills but with skills that help them become better individuals. The most rewarding moment for Potier isn’t winning, even though that is a great feeling. “The most rewarding moments is to see your players do things they never thought they would do, such as overcoming their fears and challenges.” says Potier. Potier says that one of his biggest challenges is seeing the sadness in his player’s eyes after a loss. “The biggest challenge in sport is to win it all. Unfortunately, there is only one team in football that wins every year. I tell my players, in life there is no such things as winning and losing, it is all about winning and learning and as long as each player improves in any way during the season, it is a win for all of us.” says Potier. Do you know of or are you a coach in the Ottawa area? HESN wants to hear from you, contact us at mia@houseedgemedia.com. Rob Webb is a coach for the Nepean Eagles Bantam team. Growing up, Webb played badminton and football (Quebec Championship team in 1975) at Philemon Wright High School. Webb also played badminton at Algonquin College, sponsored by the Carleton Racquets. Webb started his coaching career with skiing at Vorlage in 1980. He was a ski instructor, ski racing coach and a ski patroller. He began coaching hockey in 1993 and then football in 1995. Webb got into coaching because he wanted to be a part of the activities that his children were doing. “I stayed with it because I enjoy sports and what it did for me and I want to instil that in our youth.” says Webb Webb says his favourite thing about coaching is “working with the players and seeing them grow as athletes and mature. The excitement they show when they succeed individually and as a team gives me a lot of pleasure.” Webb says that the most rewarding moment as a coach is watching a team he is a part of win a big game. He isn’t just talking about championships, a big game is one where the team has had to struggle and work hard to win. “If I had to choose one it would be the 1997 Tyke Championship game, that team went undefeated and won a close game in overtime.” says Webb. Webb says his biggest challenge as a coach is having a player that doesn’t want to buy in to the team aspect of football. “I have found that communication is the first step. I try to gain their confidence and get them to open up a little. I try to find out a little more about them, their interests etc. Sometimes I have ask them to help me as a player/coach, giving them small responsibilities, this helps them engage with the others and builds a common bond.” explains Webb. Check out HESN's coverage of the 2014 Midget Championship: Do you know of or are you a coach in the Ottawa area? HESN wants to hear from you, contact us at mia@houseedgemedia.com. |
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