Local coaches leading hearing impaired team
Two local hockey coaches have a unique experience before them: a chance to coach Canada’s national hearing-impaired female hockey team.
Jeff Green and Shane Chabassol will be behind the bench this coming week at the world men’s hearing-impaired championships in Amherst, N.Y. – just outside Buffalo – where the women will play Team USA in a pair of showcase games prior to the men’s tournament.
“A lot of these women have, or are still playing, university hockey.
“That is their dream and for me, it is all about that: trying to help them fulfil their dream which is to represent their country,” said Chabassol, who, although officially listed as the team’s head coach, considers Green and him to be cocoaches.
Chabassol has a hearing-impaired nine-year-old daughter, Avery, who gave hockey a try before finding her way to another sport.
“She tried it for a couple of months and then swimming took over,” he said with a laugh. “I lost her to swimming.”
There is the possibility that female hockey will be included for the next world championships, as well as the 2019 Deaf-Lympics world games.
“I expect it to be a pretty high calibre of hockey,” said Green, who has coached the sport for more than 40 years in Pictou County.
“It’s a national team, and a whole new experience. At my age, you’re always looking for something new, a new challenge.”
It all started when Chabassol attended a High Performance coaching seminar in June of last year, where he met Don McKee, coach of the Canadian national men’s deaf hockey Team.
After some correspondence between the two over the next few months, Chabassol scouted for the men’s team (Truro’s Brent Walter, a goaltender who made the men’s team) and later was asked if he’d consider coaching the women’s team, and he in turn brought Green on board. The two had coached together with the Pictou County Major Bantams for a couple of seasons.
They will head to upstate New York this week, hold a team practice on Friday and play games both Saturday and Sunday against the Americans.
All the players have been sent ‘technical packages’ to help them prepare, outlining systems, such as special teams and offensive zone breakouts (only one of the women, a Newfoundlander, is from Atlantic Canada).
There will also be sign language interpreters on the bench during their games to help with any communication issues.
“It’s going to be a whole different atmosphere in terms of communication,” said Green.