Page 1 - Brandon Sun - Community Leader Awards

»COMMUNITY LEADER OF THE YEAR, SPONSORED BY BDO
Ramsey tops this year’s awards

BY PERRY BERGSON

There are a lot of ways to define
success for a coach.
Tyson Ramsey, the new head coach
and general manager of the Manitoba
Junior Hockey League’s Virden Oil
Capitals, is well aware that he’ll ulti-
mately be judged by wins and losses.
But that’s not the only part of the
equation for the veteran coach.
“I think at the end of the day, if
you’ve contributed to a player’s well-
being and helped them become bet-
ter at the sport that they’re involved
in and helped them become better
people, you can’t look at that as any-
thing but success,” Ramsey said. “Ob- 2019
viously with some of the elite level
sports, winning and the standings
and the records are something you
look at as success, but that’s only one
part of it. Even at the elite level sports,
not everyone is going to make a living
playing a sport and have a career in it.
“I think at the end of the day, if the
kids have enjoyed what they’ve done
and they’ve learned something both
on the ice or on the ball field or on
the court, and they learned a pile of
things off it, you can’t look at that as
anything but successful.”
Ramsey knows what he’s talking
about.
After playing in the MJHL with the
Winkler Flyers, Ramsey came home
to play with the Brandon University
Bobcats, serving as captain in his fi-
nal season in 2000-01.
Ramsey started coaching peewee
hockey in 2002 with Brad Wells when
he was still playing at Brandon Uni-
versity. A year later, he joined Ken
Schneider with the AAA bantam
squad, and then spent a season with
the under-18 team in 2005-06.
He took a few seasons off to play
senior hockey, rejoining Schneider’s
U18 staff as an assistant coach with
the Wheat Kings in 2011-12. He spent
three seasons in that role before tak-
ing the helm in 2014-15. Riverview School coach Tyson Ramsey is this year’s Community Leader of the Year. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
In four years as head coach, he
compiled a record of 120-55-1-4 and was awarded the head job in May. at every level he has coached,” he in February practices began for the triguing to me was the growth that
the team played in the league final In nominating Ramsey for the wrote. “Tyson is dedicated and com- Magic fastball team which he was happens over the course of a season
twice, while also serving as a scout for Community Leader Awards, Glen mitted to any team he puts his name coaching and his younger daughter and obviously the relationships that
the Western Hockey League’s Moose Tosh said the coach is certainly dedi- forward to. For example, in the 2017- Avery was playing on.” you develop with people along the
Jaw Warriors. cated. 18 season, he was the head coach of Ramsey said the appeal of coaching way. It was something that I enjoyed
In 2017-18, he began scouting for “Tyson is the ultimate coach as he the Brandon AAA Wheat King midget is simple. and I had a real sense of pride in see-
the Oil Capitals as well, and last winter is a terrific communicator, runs an boys and the head coach of the West- “It’s seeing a group of young people ing what you could accomplish with a
joined the staff as an assistant coach extremely organized and efficient man Wildcat AAA bantam female start at a certain spot and then kind group of kids from beginning to end.”
to Troy Leslie, whose contract wasn’t practice and has strong game man- program, which his daughter Emma of grow as the season went along,”
renewed in April. Ramsey eventually agement skills and has had success was playing on, and at the same time Ramsey said. “What was really in- » See‘Developing’ — Page B2