Monday, October 12, 2015 - Submitted by Ellen Michelle Koehler: National Correspondent
Brian Jones, the head coach for the Kootenay Ice, is in his fourth year coaching in the major midget league. He has coached 12-15 years total, and he says he is “happy coaching the major midget league”. Jones grew up playing hockey in Nelson, and says that he became a coach because he was done playing competitively and coaching seemed like a natural progression from there to stay in the game. He hopes to one day get a junior coaching opportunity, but for now he enjoys coaching in the BCMML.
The greatest thing about being a coach for Jones is seeing the kids he coaches excel in the sport. He enjoys watching their skills improve, and he says that the key to improving is perseverance. Jones says that the BCMML is “the best way to go for the 15, 16, 17 year old kids” if they want to improve and progress onto the junior level because this league is “the best in BC”.
Of course, every job, even the great ones, has its challenges and Jones says that the biggest challenge that he faces being a coach is psychological. He says that he is a little like a school teacher in that “you got to try to relate to what you do for one kid to motivate them you can’t do for another” because “psychologically, every kid is different”.
Jones looks forward to the rest of the regular season and hopes he can move his team up in the standings and make a difference for the kids he is coaching.
