Wow! It has been a crazy few weeks since I last posted. Lots happening so let’s get right to it…
First, Saint John High has a new head coach for the varsity boys. Former Rothesay High bench boss, Peter Vincent, will be taking over from Steve Vienneau who has move over to coach at Rothesay Netherwood. Peter inherits a program that is in the rebuilding stages that might just surprise a team or two this season if they aren’t prepared. Look for 5th year player Aaron Gordon (if he plays) and senior Nathan Munroe to have solid seasons.
Speaking of Peter, he’s recently been named to the coaching staff for CP Atlantic as an apprentice coach for New Brunswick. I’m looking forward to working with Peter again and I’m sure the players here in Southern NB are going to learn a lot from him during our Training PODs.
Peter is part of a strong Saint John area group involved in CP this season. In addition to me and Peter, Bill Mayberry (KVHS) and Mark Palmer (UNBSJ) have been selected for the girls coaching staff. Hopefully this will translate to more kids from the area making it to the provincial team level.
Speaking of CP Atlantic, tryouts are well underway. The first two tryouts (East & West) have been a little disappointing because some of the top provincial teams players and some returning CP Athletes choose not to tryout this season. The upside, however, is the overall number of kids trying out is on pace with last year and the number selected for POD will be up slightly from last year. Hopefully this coming Sunday (Sept. 15) will show that Southern NB is supportive of the BNB programs.
Finally, not really a Saint John area story but an interesting one regardless. Former National Team member and NBA draft pick, Will Njoku, is the new Athletic Director at ABU in Moncton.