Legendary Ontario coach enters within the Coach Class
Discipline Hockey Canada is proud to announce the induction of John De Souza into the Discipline Hockey Canada Corridor of Fame, Class of 2024. Honoured within the Coach class, De Souza stands as the only real inductee this yr, a becoming recognition for a profession that has formed the panorama of Canadian discipline hockey.
With a training profession spanning over 30 years, De Souza’s affect has been felt at each degree of the sport. A former nationwide group participant, he represented Canada on the 1995 Pan American Video games and competed internationally for seven years. His transition to teaching was seamless and impactful. He led the Canadian males’s nationwide indoor group to a seventh-place end on the 2007 Indoor World Cup in Vienna and served as assistant coach for the gold-medal-winning males’s group on the 2007 Pan American Video games, which secured a spot on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with the Pan Am Gold. De Souza is understood for his program constructing, producing purchase in and main with ardour. He stated that tradition comes first and paves the best way for achievement.
“Our greatest groups aren’t essentially essentially the most gifted groups. A number of my groups from after I coached at U of T, to the indoor groups and out of doors groups. They’ve at all times been centred round cultural group dynamics,” he stated. “That 2014 Pan Ams in Uruguay, nobody gave us an opportunity. That group of ladies was so shut collectively and so effectively rounded. Each choice was concerning the group being first.”
De Souza’s versatility as a coach is obvious in his work throughout each indoor and out of doors applications, with males’s and ladies’s groups, juniors and seniors alike. His long-standing dedication to the College of Toronto Varsity Blues program started in 1990, the place he served below teaching legends Liz Hoffman and Beth Ali. As head coach, he guided the Blues to 13 OUA titles and CIS medals, together with nationwide championships in 2007 and 2010. He attributes a number of his teaching learnings to working with Ali and Hoffman amongst different prime Canadian coaches. He stated he developed a set of core rules based mostly off their instruction and inspiration. And for De Souza to be talked about alongside facet a few of his corridor of fame mentors and supporters, is overwhelming.
“The induction is a good accomplishment and one thing I actually wasn’t anticipating. You need to be an incredible coach, after all, however to be talked about (within the Corridor of Fame) isn’t one thing I ever anticipated,” he stated. “I actually really feel like I’m privileged to have had the chance I’ve had. To teach at U of T for 30 years, to go to the Olympics, these are privileges.I’ve at all times been studying. I’ve by no means felt like I’ve ‘made it,’ and I’m nonetheless unsure I’m really there but.”
Past the sidelines, De Souza has been an advocate for the game. He has contributed to the event of junior athletes by means of his work with the Canadian junior males’s program and has held management roles with Discipline Hockey Ontario, together with serving as president of the board. Nonetheless to this present day, he’s teaching youth and junior hockey in Ontario and can be main a group at Nationals this summer season in Brampton.
Identified for his philosophy of turning groups into households, De Souza’s legacy is one among mentorship, excellence, and neighborhood. His induction into the Corridor of Fame is just not solely a celebration of previous achievements however a information for future generations of Canadian discipline hockey athletes and coaches.
Discipline Hockey Canada congratulates John De Souza on this wonderful achievement. Thanks in your unbelievable continued contribution.
