Get the inside scoop from Klippers Head Coach
At the start of his second year season with the Klippers, Head Coach Geoff Grimwood is gearing up for a big year. The BC native says that after a hectic first season, life here is starting to ease into more of a groove. “The first year was a whirlwind,” he says. However, familiarity has improved with the second season, and he’s settling into life in Kindersley. “The more time we spend here, the more it feels like home,” he says.
Grimwood recognizes the league as being very competitive and expects the season to be a tough one. His goal for this season is simple and direct: hit the playoffs. He says that aiming for more would likely be “asking for trouble,” but he hopes to “secure a playoff spot, and go from there.”
The biggest challenge faced by Grimwood in his coaching career is the organization and logistics. “It’s a lot of people to manage,” he says. With 25 players plus the staff to keep track of, it takes constant effort to keep everyone “on board” and moving in the same direction. “It’s a bigger operation than most people realize,” states Grimwood. “It doesn’t just happen, and I’m at the middle of it.”
This task is magnified when the team takes off for road games. Then, the masterminding and schedule-making processes take special attention. Travel, accommodations, and food for the entire team must all be considered. “The actual hockey [for road games] is no different,” said Grimwood. “Off the ice, things are a lot different.”
Overall, Grimwood has chosen goal-scoring as his main focus area for the team’s improvement. “Goal-scoring needs to get better,” he says. With the solid defense and goal-tending being displayed by the Klippers, this is the team’s next big challenge.
But when you have good players, challenges are much easier to take on. Brendan Wagner is turning out to be the break-out star for the Klippers this season. Originally from Kelowna, BC, Wagner was traded from the Grand Prairie Storm last summer. “He hasn’t been a surprise,” says Grimwood. “[He’s] off to a really great start.”
The Klippers are not planning any more trades at present. According to Grimwood, the plan is to maintain “the status quo for now.”
Grimwood says the highlight of his career so far has been experiencing the talent of the groups he’s worked with. He began his coaching career in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, spending four seasons coaching the Victoria Cougars and Peninsula Panthers. Prior to joining the Klippers, he spent three seasons serving as Assistant Coach with the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League. “I’ve been lucky to be a part of some really great organizations,” says Grimwood. “The Klippers are one of them.”
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