BCMML: Coach Spotlight Valley West Hawks' Andrew Sharp
Monday, November 16, 2015 - Submitted by Ellen Michelle Koehler: National Correspondent
The Assistant Coach for the Valley West Hawks, Andrew Sharp, may be in his first coaching season, but he has extensive experience in the hockey world. He grew up playing hockey in Montreal and Langley, then went on to play for the Juniors, then spent seven years playing professionally in Europe. Sharp also has been running a development program for players for the last five years. While he does not play anymore, the players he coaches benefit greatly from his vast experience. His best piece of advice for any player is to “do everything you can to always improve every single day.”
Sharp says that the best thing about being a coach is also the biggest challenge, and that is developing the players. His proudest moments of coaching are seeing players improve and move up. He said “it’s not about you, it’s about the players” and he values player improvement over wins. Sharp says that a good coach doesn’t have to win championships. A good coach, according to Sharp, helps their players improve and get scholarships or move up to the next league, whatever the player wants. Sharp said that he would rather have all of his players move up in hockey and lose the championships than have a $15 trophy in his basement and have no players move up.
He values the league that he is coaching in, he says that it is a “great thing for the kids in this age group” because when he was playing there was no major midget and the transition into junior hockey was a lot tougher. Andrew Sharp clearly has the players’ best interests in mind, and his team is lucky to have such a dedicated coach on their side.
