Swift Current coach receives SHA coach of the year award
The championship-winning Swift Current Abbey Resources Midget AA Broncos received another accolade with the recognition of their coach by the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA).
The SHA awarded the Outstanding Coach of the Year award for the 2018-19 season to Midget AA Broncos Head Coach Todd Hornung.
The SHA award winners for 2018-19 were announced last month, but the formal presentation of the award to Hornung took place at the team’s season windup banquet in Swift Current, June 9.
Hornung said it was humbling to receive this recognition, but he felt the team’s success was the result of a collective effort that started with the parent group who supported the coaches and players during the season. The players also stuck together and he thanked them for the way they played. He also acknowledged the support of his two assistant coaches, Dan Johnson and Jody Larson.
“I struggle with it a little bit,” he said afterwards about receiving the award. “The fact that it’s not something that comes about without our whole group, our whole team participating in it, especially the guys, Dan and Jody, that helped me. So I’m humbled to receive it, but like I said, everybody in that room has a piece of that plaque.”
The award presentation was done by SHA Zone 3 Director Greg Haubrich, who noted that Hornung is now part of an elite group. There are 6,000 registered coaches in the SHA, and he was selected from that group.
“That’s pretty huge recognition and congratulations Todd on that,” he said.
He mentioned that the team’s accomplishments this past season is a direct reflection of the individual in charge.
“Coaching a winning team is not as easy as many people would like to believe,” he said. “Keeping these young men motivated, keeping them challenged, engaged, focused on and off the ice week in and week out with practices is no easy task.”
He noted that Hornung was also doing more during the season, because he was mentoring the players not only to be the best hockey players that they can be in any given role, but also to be the best person and that is part of the process of being a good coach.
“Years from today the players from this team will fully understand and appreciate what their coach did for them as a hockey player and what he did for them as individuals and young men,” Haubrich said.
He urged players to thank their coach and to shake his hand to show their appreciation for his contribution towards their success.
“The whole team accomplished something that will be talked about for decades in this town and in the league,” he said. “That’s no easy task to accomplish. Your coach helped you as an individual in your life path.”
The team achieved some significant milestones during their journey towards the provincial championship title. The Broncos did not lose a single game during the 36-game regular season and then added another nine wins during the playoffs to claim the title of South Saskatchewan Midget Division champions. The team only lost once in the best of three series against the Battlefords Barons to determine the provincial champion, and the Broncos concluded the season with a 47-1 record.
“I didn’t have to coach the boys as much maybe as everybody thinks,” Hornung said. “It was just a special group. It was a good group of kids. They bought in to our plan all the way along. So I was fortunate to have them.”
He felt each individual player learned different lessons during the season. Work ethic and staying consistent were important concepts during the season. There were players who had to deal with sitting out at the end and struggling through a tough time when they really wanted to be there for the team, but they found different ways to support the team.
“They just bought into everything you said,” he said about the players. “We went to them and said we need this out of certain guys and they just stepped up. One guy goes down and it was next man up, and they did that throughout the year. So to have kids that can just commit and buy in that way is so helpful to us. I don’t know, they’re special, I’ll remember that team forever.”
His approach as a coach is also to support the development of players as individuals beyond the game and there is frequent interaction with them in that regard.
“We work on a lot of off-ice stuff,” he said. “A lot of one-on-one conversations, mental training, that sort of thing, where sometimes a guy’s problems on the ice isn’t necessarily hockey. It’s something he’s struggling with day to day in school or getting behind in homework. So we try and stay on top of all that stuff and help them through their day to day life as well.”
Hornung felt his own progress as a coach is the result of ongoing learning and development every season.
“I think every year you coach it’s just like going to high school,” he said. “You learn a little bit more knowledge and how to handle kids and new systems and all that stuff. So every year you coach you just progress.”