National Coaches Week celebrates the positive impact coaches have on athletes, participants, and communities across Canada. This week is an opportunity to recognize coaches for the integral role they play by saying #ThanksCoach. With virtual activities held across the country to celebrate coaching, National Coaches Week provides coaches with the recognition they deserve for the time they devote to ensuring Canadians live an active, healthy lifestyle. 

As a part of National coaches week, some of the NAIT Ooks coaches answered a series of questions offering insights into coaching and fun facts about themselves. 

Benj Heinrichs - Women's Volleyball

How long have you been coaching?

 I have been an ACAC head coach for 22 years.

What made you want to get into coaching?

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I finished my Physical Education degree, so I decided to keep going to school in the Masters of Kinesiology program: Art & Science of Coaching. At the time, I was still playing internationally, and after a year of playing pro, the job at Medicine Hat College came up, so I applied and got it. Never really thought about "getting into coaching."

What is your favourite part of coaching?

I loving building culture, helping people figure out how to learn, and build great habits. Being in the gym, working with the student-athletes during practice is the best part of coaching.

What is your least favourite part of coaching?

Not having control over the outcome of matches. It was way easier as a player, where I could be on the floor doing something about it.

What is the biggest highlight of your coaching career?

Taking the MHC Women's team to the CCAA National Championship in 2012 and making it to the semi-finals, the program's only appearance at Nationals.

If you never got into coaching, what do you think you would be doing?

Teaching in Kinesiology, Health, Wellness.

Who is your favourite musician or band?

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).

What are your hobbies/interests outside of coaching?

Anything to do with health and wellness: nutrition, mindset, fitness, recovery, connection. Specifically, I love working out, mountain biking, and reading.

Who is/was your celebrity crush?

The Rock.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why?

An Eagle, amazing big picture aerial view of the world.

What is one interesting fact or talent that you have that most people might not know about you?

I took two levels of social dance in university and taught social dance for 12 years at Medicine Hat College.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into coaching?

Don't get hung up on being right. Continuously search for sound principles based on facts, look for ways to get better, challenge your beliefs, and evolve. Find great people who know more than you to learn from.

If you won the lottery, what would your first purchase be?

A small, simple, minimalist house in the mountains by a lake/river and some great mountain bike trails.

What was your first car?

VW Diesel Rabbit 1984 Blue.

Slav Kornik - Men's Basketball

How long have you been coaching?

Eight years.

What made you want to get into coaching?

I enjoy the competition of sports. I also have an interest and passion for learning and developing my understanding of the game of basketball and passing that knowledge on to players.  

What is your favourite part of coaching?

I love seeing young people develop as basketball players and individuals. Having an impact on the improvement of a player over several weeks, months, and years brings me a lot of satisfaction. 

What is your least favourite part of coaching?

I do not enjoy working with individuals who lack work ethic and use the sport exclusively for individual accolades. 

What is the biggest highlight of your coaching career?

Participating in USports Nationals as an assistant coach with the University of Alberta men's team in 2018 and 2019.

If you never got into coaching, what do you think you would be doing?

I'd continue doing what I was doing before coaching, working in television media.

Who is your favourite musician or band?

I enjoy listening to a variety of music and bands, but I don't have a favourite. 

What are your hobbies/interests outside of coaching?

Nothing is more important to me at this point in my life than spending time with my son and wife. I also love golfing, exercising, and reading. 

Who is/was your celebrity crush?

Like many teenage boys of the 90s, I had a crush on Britney Spears. I think I'm too old to have a celebrity crush now.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why? 

The king of the jungle, a lion

What is one interesting fact or talent that you have that most people might not know about you?

I used to be quite passionate about training in MMA. I did it for a few years and got decent at it. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into coaching?

Do it because you enjoy it, then spend time learning the craft. If you're doing it for money, glory, ego, you won't do it for long. 

If you won the lottery, what would your first purchase be?

I'd buy a house somewhere where the climate is much warmer than Edmonton.  

What was your first car?

Silver 1985 Subura.

Sinead Cheah - Badminton

How long have you been coaching?

​Approximately five years in a combination of assistant coaching and head coaching.

What made you want to get into coaching?

My family has a past of coaching badminton at the post-secondary level. My mother coaches York University's badminton team in Ontario, and my father coached Seneca College in Ontario.

What is your favourite part of coaching?

​Watching my player's development and observing the friendships, accomplishments, and memories they will have for a lifetime.

What is your least favourite part of coaching?

Always the paperwork! Sometimes the absolute expectation for players to perform, it is a part of growth, but it is difficult sometimes to know the players feel the stress of the expectation. When it doesn't work in their favour, it is a tremendously emotional time for them.

What is the biggest highlight of your coaching career?

​Any and every time, my players have a growth breakthrough in a gold medal match. Always a joy to watch. 

If you never got into coaching, what do you think you would be doing?

 Trying to steer students into taking part in these types of programs that post-secondary institutions offer as it did so much for me as a student.

Who is your favourite musician or band?

 ​I don't have one. I hop from genre to genre and can find something I like in all genres.

What are your hobbies/interests outside of coaching?

​I play badminton socially myself quite often. I also like going to the dog park, exploring trails, attending festivals, and watching street performers.

Who is/was your celebrity crush?

​Jason Momoa.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why?

 A tiger. It'd be nice to be one of the most powerful hunters in the jungle.

What is one interesting fact or talent that you have that most people might not know about you?

​I used to be a player on the same team myself. I started playing competitive badminton when I was 16. My parents both played competitively; they met playing badminton and coached post-secondary teams that I was consistently exposed to as I was growing up. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into coaching?

 ​It is very fulfilling and rewarding, but also very time consuming and taxing. Pursue at your own risk (haha), but you'll also have to love what you do unequivocally.

If you won the lottery, what would your first purchase be?

 A new car is always nice! After that, likely something that will create a return on my investment, so I can pursue things like coaching and playing badminton socially more often.

What was your first car?

 ​2001 Nissan Altima, Taupe :)

Scott Fellnermayr - Men's Hockey

How long have you been coaching?

I have coached with NAIT since 2017; this is my first year as head coach. I started as a video coach for two years before becoming the assistant coach this past year.

What made you want to get into coaching?

When I was getting near the end of my playing career, I knew I wanted to get into coaching. I wasn't going to make it very far as a player, but I felt like I had a lot of hockey knowledge and good intentions to help make better hockey players and people. Coaching (particularly at the college level) gives you the opportunity every day to set a good example and help young student-athletes at a pivotal time in their lives. I often think about where I would be if I didn't have such great coaches through junior, college (at NAIT), and pro, and how much they impacted my life. Because of that, I am always motivated to pay it forward in the same way.

What is your favourite part of coaching?

I like the balance between being around like-minded people and hard work. I think the best teams (in any sport) have a lot of fun together off the ice/court and can switch gears quickly to focus on hard work in practice. Seeing a team develop in these aspects over the course of a season is a lot of fun and very rewarding.

What is your least favourite part of coaching?

Dropping pucks for the players to work on face-offs. I take a lot of sticks to the shins and fingers.

What is the biggest highlight of your coaching career?

This past season we were playing great hockey at the end of the year. It was fun to watch that team develop and get closer over the season, and I believe we ramped up to play our best hockey at the right time.

If you never got into coaching, what do you think you would be doing?

I would be in skill development with young hockey players full-time.

Who is your favourite musician or band?

Jimi Hendrix.

What are your hobbies/interests outside of coaching?

Compressing golf balls.

Who is/was your celebrity crush?

Rachel McAdams.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why?

Owl. A large majestic bird that does not get hunted by anything

What is one interesting fact or talent that you have that most people might not know about you?

I am amazing at Mario Kart on N64.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into coaching?

I highly recommend getting into coaching if your intentions are to improve the lives of players long-term. Don't worry about inexperience or lack of knowledge in the game because if you're passionate about it, there is always value that you can bring to a team, and you will learn so much so fast.

If you won the lottery, what would your first purchase be?

Private Jet.

What was your first car?

My first vehicle was a 1998 GMC Sonoma. It was an old NAPA parts truck (with the decals and hat on top) with almost half a million KM's on it. Good times.

Todd Warnick - Women's Basketball

How long have you been coaching?

25 years (18 at the CCAA level).

What made you want to get into coaching?

A former coach got me to do some community coaching, and I fell in love with coaching and teaching the game.

What is your favourite part of coaching?

The journey of each season and the process of building a team.

What is your least favourite part of coaching?

Losing a student-athlete to things beyond the control of the team/program.

What is the biggest highlight of your coaching career?

Building the NAIT program from where it started to where it is.

If you never got into coaching, what do you think you would be doing?

Teaching or working with kids.

Who is your favourite musician or band?

Queen.

What are your hobbies/interests outside of coaching?

Boxing and writing science-fiction and fantasy.

Who is/was your celebrity crush?

N/A

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why?

None, I have kids; they are enough animal for me!

What is one interesting fact or talent that you have that most people might not know about you?

I am not that interesting.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into coaching?

Be athlete-centered. Work for the athletes, not the other way around. Understand that the job is like an iceberg. What happens on the court is a small fraction of the work. The rest of the planning, administration, and, most importantly, management, leadership, and mentorship of people, is what happens outside the lines, and it never ends. There is no off-season.

If you won the lottery, what would your first purchase be?

Payoff my mortgage and my parents mortgage and put money away for my sons.

What was your first car?

1989 Toyota Tercel hatch-back, blue, standard transition.

Stef Thomson - Women's Hockey

How long have you been coaching?

I am going into my 7th season of coaching.

What made you want to get into coaching?

I was very fortunate to play a variety of sports growing up. Over the years, I had some incredible coaches that not only made me a better athlete, but they truly cared about my well-being and development as a person. Their coaching style and guidance made a significant difference in my life and pushed me closer to my goals, often without realizing it. 

I felt that after four quick years of playing collegiate hockey that I had only skimmed the surface of what there was to know about the game of hockey.  With an unwavering passion for the game, incredible mentors, and unfinished learning, it was an obvious direction for me to get into coaching. 

What is your favourite part of coaching?

Working with athletes that want to get better. No question. The "Hey Coach, did you see that?" moments after a shift or drill are at the top of the list. 

What is your least favourite part of coaching?

Administrative tasks, especially scheduling.

What is the biggest highlight of your coaching career?

The biggest highlight of my coaching career so far would be the 2018 Falun Female Frozen Challenge. It was the first women's ACAC outdoor game in Alberta against MacEwan University. Double overtime win with 7 seconds left.

It was an incredible backdrop for a hockey game. Outdoor rink, snowing, lots of fans, and starting to get dark. It wasn't necessarily the best hockey that I've ever seen, but it was undoubtedly one of the most fun and exciting games I've ever been a part of. 

If you never got into coaching, what do you think you would be doing?

Still playing or teaching.

Who is your favourite musician or band?

Kings of Leon or James Bay.

What are your hobbies/interests outside of coaching?

Hockey, running, biking, roller-blading, learning to golf, and lots of reading. 

Who is/was your celebrity crush?

Patrick Sharp.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why?

If I could be any animal in the world, I would be a Wolf. Born into a pack. Live and hunt together. It would be comforting being part of a pack that has your back. 

What is one interesting fact or talent that you have that most people might not know about you?

I was an Olympic Torchbearer for the 2010 Olympics. I carried the torch in Lindsey, Ontario. I actually have the torch that I carried back home in Ontario. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into coaching?

Be open-minded and willing to learn. It doesn't matter where you start. You can learn from anybody; you can learn what to do, and you can learn what not to do. 

If you won the lottery, what would your first purchase be?

New video camera and equipment.

What was your first car?

2003 Chevy Tracker (Navy blue), named Rocky. If you got going over 110km/h it got pretty rocky.