We’re putting coaches in the spotlight with our Hurray for Coaches Day.
This year’s Northumberland Spirit Award winning coach was Travis Mercer. He was voted by you, our listeners, as the Outstanding Coach of the Year for 2022.
Travis told us he was thrilled with the nomination, and a bit shocked. “To win the award was a bit of a shock because, when you look at all the coaches throughout the different sports and different activities in Northumberland, it’s quite an honour to be nominated and then to win the award…I was shocked to get the award.”
Mercer has a history with hockey, having played the game with the Barrie Colts and as a Junior for four seasons and for the last couple of decades as a coach, most recently with Empower Hockey Development in Port Hope.
For Travis, coaching started early. Helping out at hockey camps, he had the chance to meet and be mentored by some great coaches, and Mercer credits all the coaches he’s had along the way for helping him achieve so much in his career as a player. He said, “For me to give back was something I always wanted to do.”
Mercer says it’s important to keep the game fun and it’s something he keeps top of mind with players and their families. Seeing the looks on his players faces when the perfect new skills is a reward in itself for Travis. He said that for him, the biggest challenge in coaching is keeping up with the kids who are doing things today that just didn’t exist in his day. “When I say like, ‘The Mohawk’ and ‘The Michigan’ that wasn’t part of the game when I was a kid. So for me, to be able to get out on the ice and teach it, I have to push myself to continue to get better as well.”
Mercer creates a space to literally and figuratively play in. He says it’s important to have place where you’re not judged, and therefore it’s a place where you can make mistakes – this is where we’re going to learn so the mistakes we make in practice – when we make those corrections when it come to a game we’re going to be better, because if we’re afraid to make a mistake, then we’re not going to even try.
Click on the player below for the complete interview.
Written by Joseph Goden
