Players
who graduate from the Ontario Hockey
League will tell you their time in
the league, whether it is four or
five years, just seemed to fly by.
The same
holds true for coaches.
Associate coach Greg Walters of the
Sarnia Sting will be behind the
bench for the final time Saturday
night when the Sting host the
Windsor Spitfires at the RBC Centre.
Walters
is stepping down after eight years
as a coach with the Sting. He and
his family are moving back to the
Toronto area, where both he and his
wife, Stephanie grew up.
“Eight
years has flown by,” said Walters,
prior to a game earlier this week.
“There’s been some stints that
haven’t been good ones as far as
winning and losing, but for me it’s
always been about the players.
“I tried
to lend them my experience of
playing in the OHL and then pro
hockey and what I went through and
what it takes to be a player. But
the most humbling thing is when they
leave and then come back and say
thank you. That always leaves me
with a feeling I can’t describe.”
He has a
number of autographed photos in his
office of former Sting players who
have gone on to play pro hockey.
Most of them are simply signed,
“thanks Wally.”
Walters,
his wife and two boys Dawson and
Dylan, and will be honoured in
pre-game ceremonies Saturday night
and no doubt there will be some
tears.
Everyone
who knows “Wally” will tell you he
wears his heart on his sleeve. Greg
has already taped his going away
speech because there’s no way he
could do it live in front of the
fans. If he couldn’t do one for
Marco Caprara, he sure won’t be able
to do one live for himself.
When
asked what he is going to miss most
about his time in Sarnia, Walters
was quick to respond.
“I’ll
miss everything. I’m sad that we
didn’t have any playoff success as a
team. But I am going to miss the
relationship with the kids and their
families. I enjoyed coming to work
here for eight years. I prided
myself on loyalty and I’m proud of
that.
“I will
definitely miss the coaching staff.
When you spend seven or eight months
with them, you do get close to the
boys and develop a special bond. One
thing I won’t miss is the bus
rides.”
But it’s
on those bus trips that I really got
to know Greg Walters, the person. He
could sit and talk for hours if you
wanted, and about anything. There
was no topic off limits, from
sports, to family and life in
general.
Greg
always sat right behind the bus
driver. If not reading a golf book,
he would have his blanket ready to
go at a moment’s notice for a nap.
“Anybody
want anything out of the cooler, you
better get it now,” Walters would
say, just before using the cooler as
a foot rest to take his nap.
Greg
came from a winning OHL program in
Ottawa and hated to lose. This
season was particularly tough on
him. He realized the Sting would
have to bite the bullet and begin
rebuilding, but he sure didn’t like
it.
Murray
Vosbourgh the color commentator on
CHOK Radio for Sting games stated,.
“Greg
was always approachable and always
told the truth. I always admired his
loyalty to the Sting no matter what
the subject. When I would see him
during the summer, he couldn’t wait
for hockey season to begin.”
On a
lighter note, Vosbourgh added, “it
seemed he slept 90 percent of the
time on the bus. And over the years
the post-game meals improved 1,000
percent thanks to Wally.”
Tim
Bacik is one of the Sting assistant
coaches. He lives in Windsor.
“I call
Greg the Mayor of Sarnia because he
seems to know everybody. He treats
everyone equally and is super
polite. He is willing to talk with
everybody. I’ve been coaching in
this league eight years now and he
is one of the hardest working guys
I’ve ever seen.”
Bacik
added, “he rivals right up there
with anybody that I’ve ever worked
with. I like to call him the gentle
giant. You want a guy like that on
your side.”
Tom
Gibson, play-by-play man for the
Sting, says Walters is going to be
missed.
“He’s
just everybody’s friend. You can
joke with him. Even when times are
tough, he takes it hard, but can
still laugh about it. It’s going to
be different not seeing him behind
the bench or getting on a bus. I
think it’s going to be a tough night
on Saturday night.”
Gibson
added, “Greg developed a solid
relationship with my seven year-old
son, Daniel, the past couple of
years. I haven’t been able to tell
Daniel that Wally is leaving. He’s
going to be crushed.”
I can’t
recall one player in Greg’s eight
years with the Sting who had
anything bad to say about him. Greg
knew how to have that special
rapport with players. Greg was the
buffer between the head coach and
the players. Some people can’t
handle that, but I thought Greg was
perfect for the job.
Defenceman Brent Sullivan has worked
under Walters for the past three
years.
“He’s
arguably one of the best coaches
I’ve had in my life. He’s usually
the first guy you see when you go to
the rink for practice and always has
a smile on his face no matter how
bad you played the night before.
He’s also willing to talk.”
Sullivan
added, “He knows how to lighten the
mood at practice. He would always
jump into the drills. It made me
realize how quick you can get out of
shape.”
Sting
head coach and general manager Dave
MacQueen has also worked with
Walters for the past four years.
“Saturday night is going to be
bittersweet. As much as I wish Wally
and his family the best of luck,
Greg was the perfect associate
coach. His passion and commitment
are second to none. We not only had
a coach-coach relationship, but a
personal relationship as well.
Through the good times and bad we’ve
still been able to laugh and joke
around.”
MacQueen
added, “you can’t have two heavies
on the coaching staff so Greg was
the perfect guy players could go to.
They could bounce things off him and
they respected him. They also knew
when Greg got mad. But he
understands the game and has done a
great job with the Sting.”
Trainer
Jason Kaszycki has been with the
Sting for only one season, but says
he will miss Walters’ personality.
“When I
first got hired, Greg made me feel
welcome the first time I met him. He
has a wonderful personality and has
become a great friend. In this
business you spend a lot of time
with certain people around the rink
and on the bus. It was a treat
listening to Greg Walters stories
all year on the bus.”
He
added, “The bottom line for me, Greg
is warm and open and makes everyone
accountable.”
Walters
wants to continue his coaching
career and wants to be a head coach.
There’s no question he will land one
of those positions, likely with a
Tier Two Junior A team in the
Toronto area.
I know
Sting fans wish Greg and his family
well. I’m one of those, but I also
feel a little sad right now. It’s
never easy to say goodbye to someone
you have worked closely with for
eight years.
We all
know coaches, like players, come and
go, but friends last forever. Greg
Walters, I just want you to know
I’ve gained a friend forever. Wally,
you are one heck of a guy and I am
going to miss you.
