Hooray for Coaches Day is presented by Family Dental Centre. We are profiling Brad O’Neill.
52-year-old O’Neill, who is in his 5th season coaching youth hockey, moved to the area in 2004 from Goderich with his wife and since then has opened award- winning Home Hardware stores in Cobourg, Port Hope and Newcastle.
Before the interview starts he tells us his motto is, “Ski hard,” and adds, “It might be 100% true that I’m not completely in control and just going for it large.”
He has two girls and one boy, aged 13, 14 and 15.
O’Neill most recently got back from Lake Placid after coaching his one daughter’s hockey team “Cold Creek Comets Major Peewee”.
He signed up originally because his kids needed a coach. O’Neill says he never had any expectations when he signed up but soon realized he was a role model for these girls.
O’Neill says he does everything he can to make them smile and make it a fun experience, saying competition is good but what it’s about at the end of the day is making it a memorable life experience for these kids.
He adds that coaching is a big commitment and also says that coaching is a team sport – that he couldn’t do it without the other coaches – that having that flexibility is what makes it work so he can get out and do something else he enjoys – ski!
Click below to hear our complete interview with Brad O’Neill.
