This season marks the ninth year of the OMHA Coach of the Month presented by The Coaches Site. We asked for nominations of deserving coaches and after much deliberation, Michael Gardner of the Dorchester U13 Local League team was selected as the Coach of the Month for October.

Know someone who should be Coach of the Month? Click here to nominate them.

Here's his story as told by his nomination:

Coach Mike puts 100% effort into his team and every player. His approach is very calm and uplifting. This is Mikes second year as a Head Coach with the Dorchester Association. This year we have an extremely large team. He has made every player felt seen and remains to be equal and fair to all players. After every game he writes a news article about the game. Highlighting players and their achievements. The extra time he takes at home to make sure the kids have the best season, goes above and beyond. 

I've always been involved in many sports. With Hockey specifically I started playing house league when I was 10. I always played in house league or select until I went away to University. I was more involved with Track and Field and Football at that time. When I was done with University I joined my unit hockey team in the army and I actually learned a lot from some very good players there. This is my second year as a head coach in the Dorchester LL program. I previously had a little experience in the St. Mary's LL program as an assistant coach before that. 

The idea to write the recap sports articles for the team just came from taking a few minutes to learn the utilities of the Dorchester provided website and Sportsheadz admin control panel. I saw it as an option in the control panel and I remembered how fun it was for me when I was a high school and university athlete and seeing articles posted in the sports pages of the local and school papers. My players last year also really liked when I was able to help get print articles into our local paper the Dorchester Signpost. So filling in a brief game recap on the website seemed like an easy way to help make the season more memorable for the kids. 

It's never easy to ensure equal development for every player, and in reality it's not possible no matter what the size of the roster is. I see development of the players as a by-product of ensuring a positive environment where everyone is having fun and the kids are at an age where if even given the opportunity to participate they will improve exponentially. 

In my first year as a coach I learned a few things. I had to learn to put my own competitive personality aside as in reflecting on the games I had to come to terms with the fact that I was actually more competitive in personality than most of the kids. Each year I am involved I actually get a little more relaxed than the year before. I've become a little more focused on providing a good experience and giving the kids some life skills for the future and attaching less value to trying to win every game. 

Please note that all previous submissions are still eligible for upcoming Coach of the Month awards and do not need to be resubmitted.