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Posted by: Ryan_Williams on 12/01/2009 12:18 PM
Updated by: furlong on 12/01/2009 12:18 PM
Expires: 01/01/2014 12:00 AM

Training helps 'Hawks trainer find his spot on the squad

Not all the action happens on the ice; behind the scenes Evan Guillemette keeps his Skyhawks safe and prepared.

By Ryan Williams
theclaw.ca

After being a kind of human Swiss army knife the North Bay Trappers Junior ‘A’ (formerly North Bay Skyhawks) hockey club for five years, trainer has at long last reached his goal.

“I did various jobs with the organization such as a parking attendant, ticket collector, security and volunteered with St. John’s Ambulance,” Guillemette explained.

Finally, at the beginning of this past season, while the players were battling for spots on the team, Guillemette was asked to attend a conference to apply for the trainer’s job.

“They (coaching staff) knew I wanted to do that so at the start of the year they came to me and asked me to attend certain meetings,” Guillemette said, adding these courses opened his eyes to a new world.

Surprisingly, hockey wasn’t always Guillemette's calling, nor was being a top athlete.

“I never played hockey growing up; I was a football guy through high school,” he added.

Knowing he never really had the potential to go anywhere on the gridiron, he focused on the trainer’s contribution of sports.

“As you can see, I am not a very big person; football was to physically demanding for someone of my stature,” the five-foot-six Guillemette said proudly.

So he decided to get into first-aid and CPR training.

“The whole (Trappers) staff has to be basic first-aid trained, but I had to go get advanced first-aid to be a trainer of any sort,” he added

After completing the course, Guillemette along with his 'classmates', attempted to secure a spots on hockey teams as trainers. After two weeks of weekend courses, he started his new occupation during preseason tryout scrimmages.

“I felt good out there, even after only my training. I felt like I knew a lot,” Guillemette said, which proved true as the coaching staff invited to be a part of the team.

In his second game behind the bench he was called into duty as one of his players suffered an injury.

“The training doesn’t prepare you for what you are going to see or deal with; it helps you stay calm in certain situations,” Guillemette explained.

It would be just the first of many injuries he would face all season.

“Our training allows us to determine whether or not the injury is out of our control to attempt to help. We have St. John’s paramedics on hand in case anything major happens but we don’t have a team doctor at the rink,” Guillemette explained.

The paramedics are for more serious cases.

“The worst injury I have had to deal with required them (St. John’s) to come out and assist me. It was a spinal cord injury and the player actually had to be rushed to the nearby hospital.”

PRE-GAME PREPARATIONS

Injuries are not the only challenge Guillemette deals with on a daily basis. On game days his role is to set everything up so no one has to break a stride in the build-up to game time.

“I get to the arena two hours before everyone else and set their (players') stuff up and ready so they can get straight to work.”

His role is to make it as easy as possible for the squad to stick to a routine with everything predictable until game time.

Dressing rooms are rife with superstitions and Guillemette has to accommodate them.

“From the amount of Redbulls guys drink before the game to how their shower sandals are set up,” Guillemette said, laughing.

“I see some pretty strange superstitions and they don’t just happen before the game. Some guys won’t shower at certain times after the games; they have their own set time to do that,” he added.

Guillemette has become not only a part of the team, he has become good friends with the other staff.

“I hang out with the guys (coaches) outside of the rink quite a bit. We talk hockey but it’s nice to see them out of the rink, with less stress.”

Guillemette, along with medical doctors, is responsible for clearing the players before they can resume play after an injury.

“I don’t feel pressure from him (head coach) to clear people if I don’t feel they are ready to continue; safety is still the number-one priority.”

Guillemette said he believes any decision he makes is the correct one and doesn’t think the coaching staff would fault him for holding someone out, no matter how badly the team might need that player.

The team has a strict daily plan for the players including diet and exercises. Guillemette admits, laughing, that it gets difficult to control certain things.

“It's impossible to be everywhere at once; the hardest thing is to keep the ‘puck bunnies’ (female admirers) away at certain times like playoffs.”

He said he feels close to his team and not only sees himself as a trainer but as someone anyone on the team can go to with any type of problem.

“I’m there for the boys (team). They know if they have any problems on or off the ice they can come to me.”

Personal life can affect the way the player performs on a daily basis and its Guillemette’s job to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Guillemette aspires to work his way up the trainer ranks.

“This is the direction I want to go; this is helping me achieve the goals I have set for myself,” Guillemette plans to be back for the tryouts and off-ice training, which begin in May.

“I look forward to working with new guys and helping them achieve their goals while working to achieve mine,” Guillemette added.