Page 25 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 17

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CORNWALL Presents... The Games Are Over,

TIRE The Memories Live On...

SERVICE ...Richard Sennott

By Terry Tinkess rest, he has now trouble in responding.
t has been two years now since Richard Sennott received a call from a friend who
ISennott retired from his role as the executive was providing some skill training to a group

director of the Ottawa District Hockey of five and six-year-old hockey players, but
Association (now Hockey Eastern Ontario, didn’t have a lot of experience in working with
(HEO)). After having spent 52 years of players so young. Sennott, of course, offered
to come and give him a hand.
dedicated service to minor and junior hockey
in the Ottawa area, he does allow himself the “I was helping this one young fellow who
luxury of spending some of the colder months was having a lot of difficulty making a turn, and

south of the border, but he is doing anything I tried to explain to him that it was like riding
but taking it easy. a bicycle. All of a sudden it was like someone
turned a light bulb on and he understood and
The say that if you want to get something
he went and did it.
done, give it to the person who is already has
more than enough to do, since they obviously “The next session I went out, and I don’t
can’t say no. It would seem this is the case know what he had been doing, likely skating

with Sennott, because no sooner did he have outside. The first time he did it, he did it
some time on his hands than the Central Junior perfectly, the head turned, the shoulders
Hockey League (now the Central Canada There is no place on earth that Richard turned, the hips turned. I had just turned away
Hockey League, CCHL) came calling. Sennott seems more at home than working and he skated up to me and pulled on my pant
on the ice with young hockey players. leg. He was about two-foot zip, and he looked
“I was talking with Kevin Abrams, and he Photo by Terry Tinkess up at me and he had a smile on his face from
asked if I’d be interested, so…” says Sennott.
volunteers. ear-to-ear and all he said was “Thanks, I did
He is now the director of hockey operations it!” It gave me such a thrill; I got chills just
and player safety, doing at the junior level “Two weeks later, after I agreed to help the looking down at the little guy.
pretty much what Brendan Shanahan does at guy out, he disappeared and I became the head
the NHL level. coach at 16. That was quite the experience, “You know what, competitive hockey is
but I got a lot of satisfaction out of it.” great, but this is where the game is at.”
He is also the director of the Initiation
Program with HEO. Retired? Right. Sennott coached in a lot of locations, and It was a belief that Sennott carried with him
at a lot of different levels over the years, throughout his life with hockey. Ending up as
Not being able to say no is nothing new to an employee at the ODHA was just the world

Sennott, it is, in fact how he came to become and became involved in the certification turning as it should. “Getting the job at the
involved in the teaching and coaching side of process in the late 1970’s. He was elected to ODHA was a dream come true,” says Sennott.
the game in the first place. An injury at the age the association board of directors, becoming “I didn’t know what I was in for, but it was a

of 15 set the stage for what was to become a more and more involved, until the position dream come true.”
of executive director came open. “I was
way of life for many years to come.
successful in the application process, got the The most important thing, he maintains, is
“I got hurt at junior, when I was fifteen, and job and went from there,” says Sennott. the people. “The things that happen, and the

they told me that winter that I would never people that you meet I think are probably the
play competitive sport again,” says Sennott. As anyone who becomes involved in minor most rewarding things you do, the friends you
“A friend of my dad’s called, and said ‘I don’t sport for the right reasons knows, you leave hang on to,” says Sennott. “You meet some
with a lifetime of memories. You meet a
know anything about hockey,’ and that’s the great people along the way, sure there is the
thing with volunteers. You show up to register lot of wonderful people, share in some life- odd strange one, but it doesn’t matter if you
your son or daughter and they say they don’t changing experiences, and, for the most part, work or volunteer, there are always those
have a coach, and if they don’t have a coach, have a lot of fun. When asked if there were challenges. My motto has always been hockey
then they don’t have a team, so someone any memories that shone brighter than all the for the fun of it. That’s what it has to be.”

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