Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Maybe he's getting ready... for the Blue ticket...

Kenny used to teach at West Kent School in his earlier days and was highly regarded as an excellent teacher before moving on to another school as a vice-principal. He has a passion for sports and did an superb job as the coach of the Western Capitals and that would be no easy chore as I had a lot of experience working the hockey wars in Summerside. I could be wrong here but I think he's Vince Mulligan's nephew so the hockey coaching probably comes with it. So what's the real deal here and my guess from a few rumours that I've been hearing is that Kenny is interested in taking a run at the Tory side of the ticket in District 6 Kinlock - Stratford against Cynthia Dunsford as a lot of well healed Tories believe her win was just a fluke and I guess time will only tell....
Coach leaves Western Capitals
Kenny MacDougall steps down due to family and work commitments
JASON SIMMONDS
SUMMERSIDE — The Summerside Western Capitals will have a new bench boss for the 2009-10 Maritime Junior A Hockey League season.
General manager Gabe Keough announced Tuesday night that head coach and director of hockey operations Kenny MacDougall of Stratford will not be returning for a second season due to family and work commitments.
“I really enjoyed my time in Summerside,” said MacDougall. “I enjoyed working with the players we had and was certainly looking forward to perhaps working with that same group and maybe building towards a RBC Cup.”
Summerside and Thunder Bay are the two finalists to host the 2011 Canadian junior A hockey championship tournament. A decision is expected sometime in the fall.
Assistant coach Scott Bridges said he wants to take some more time to make a decision on his future.
Under MacDougall, who is vice-principal at East Wiltshire Intermediate School in Cornwall, the Capitals posted a 39-13-0-2 record in the regular season.
They won the MJAHL’s Kent Cup, Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian championship and went 1-3, failing to qualify for the semifinals, at the RBC Cup in Victoria, B.C.
“The whole experience is going to make me a better coach,” reflected MacDougall. “We had a highly-successful year. . . Any time you’re involved with a group of people and you win something significant, you learn from that in terms of how to do it again.”
MacDougall, who is married and is the father of two young children, says he would love to return to the Caps.
But extensive travel and time commitment while working full-time make it difficult.
“I love coaching and want to stay involved,” said MacDougall. “It is sad to not be going back because you put your whole heart and effort into it for a year.
“I’d love to be able to continue on and do it.”
It’s a situation Keough understands.
“Family and livelihood have to come first, and coaching in the Maritime Junior A?Hockey League has become more than a part-time position,” said Keough. “It is getting more difficult each year to expect to fill this position on a seasonal basis. We will be in the hunt for a replacement without delay.”
While he has no set timeline, Keough added he would like to have a new head coach in place by mid-July.
(jpsports@journalpioneer.com)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

my understanding is he may have more on his personal plate than politics