This week’s episode features Dave Gwyn. Dave is in his 20th season as a minor hockey coach in the Greater Toronto Area. He spent his first 8 seasons in the GTHL with the Wexford Raiders AAA program. In 2006, he transitioned to the girls game, and in his second season, lead the Scarborough Sharks Midget AA program to a provincial championship and a silver medal at the inaugural Esso Cup in Calgary.
In 2009, Dave won PWHL coach of the year honours, and the following season, won the MLP cup with Team Canada as an assistant coach. He also coached with Team Ontario at three U18 national championships, including the Canada Winter Games in 2015.
Dave is a Chartered Professional Coach with the Coaches Association of Canada. He holds an NCCP high performance II certification, is an acting NCCP High performance I coach evaluator, and is currently serving at the head coach of the PWHL’s Durham West Jr. Lightning.
This conversation is a great listen for any minor hockey coaches out there looking to gain some advice and insight from someone with 20 years in the game.
We cover an array of topics, including:
-coaching in a pay-to-play system
-work/life balance as a volunteer coach
-how parenthood has impacted his approach to the game
-what has kept him up at night as a coach
Enjoy!
