Can’t get much closer to the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games than this – I guess? Training, hard work, dedication and hours of practice is all for not.
Players have given up hours and years of hard work to see if they can conquer a Gold Medal for Canada at the upcoming Olympic Games in Sochi, now it find’s itself in need of a new bench boss.
While at the helm, head coach Dan Church did an exceptional job and no one can take that from him, but stepping down this close makes one wonder why or what happened.
If it’s personal that’s fine, but if it is something that might come out in the news later on that can hurt the team or the program one could ask – could he not have picked better timing?
While it stunned the team, they have to go on and do what they set out to do and that’s win Gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games in Russia. Impossible, no but a tough task nevertheless.
Official announcement from Hockey Canada was that team Canada’s Olympic Women’s Head Coach Dan Church resigned a few short weeks before the start of the 2014 Sochi Games.
In the meantime he will be replaced (interim basis) by Assistant Coaches Danielle Goyette and Lisa Haley.
Daniel Goyette is a past player from Quebec that has played in the Olympics’ is ranked first at the 2002 Winter Olympics with 7 assists (tied for first) with 10 points.
Four years earlier she had 8 goals in the 1998 Olympics and finished her international career with 113 goals and 105 assists while appearing in 171 games for Team Canada.
Lisa Haley became the first coach in Ryerson Rams Women’s hockey history on April 1, 2011 and was the head coach at Saint Mary’s University where she amassed one of the best winning records in Canadian women’s hockey.
In her 14 seasons as Head Coach of the Saint Mary’s Women’s team she led the Huskies to eight (8) appearances in the Atlantic University Sport finals, capturing the league title in 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2010.
In a press release Dan Church stated “I would like to thank Hockey Canada for the opportunity to reach my goal of coaching and winning gold at the international level.”
Let’s remember that Dan led Canada’s Women’s team to a Gold Medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship and a Silver Medal at this year’s tournament.
“I wish the players and staff all the best going forward. I have understood from the beginning of this process that winning gold in Sochi was this team’s only focus. I believe that stepping aside for personal reasons at this time will help the team achieve its goal.”
The decision came out of nowhere, as Church had been active with the team right up until the announcement. Curiously, the Canadian women will play their U.S. counterparts in a warm-up game Thursday night in Calgary.
“We understand that this was a very difficult decision for Dan,” said Hockey Canada GM of female national teams Melody Davidson. “We are certainly very appreciative that he came to this conclusion with the best interests of the team in mind.”
More details eventually will emerge regarding Church’s departure from the organization. But this is highly irregular for Hockey Canada and it will be intriguing to see how the players react to the move.
