The U-18 North
Central Predators will benefit from the combined skills and knowledge of two Head
Coaches this coming 2023-24 season. Dan Schaly and Derek Williams have agreed
to share the bench and co-coach the organization's most senior group of players.
Both coaches
plan on drawing from their personal experiences to guide the team to success.
Schaly said he wants to help grow the NCP U-18 program and contribute to each
player’s hockey aspirations. “I'm looking forward to working with Derek and the players to
build a strong program that will put the NCP organization on the map,” he
said. His counterpart hopes to see the team finish strong in the ETA and
advance to the OMHA Championship weekend. “With a great mix of returning
players (2006 birth year) and a great group of players (2007 birth year) coming
up, we will have what it takes to succeed in a tough ETA league,” said
Williams.
William's and Schaly’s combined coaching experience will certainly help
the team reach their goals. Williams has been a head coach or
assistant coach for nine different teams, throughout various organizations,
including NCP, Barrie Minor Hockey Association and Ontario Women’s Hockey
Association. Schaly has coached several teams in the Barrie Minor Hockey
Association from the A to AAA level. He also has experience as a skill
development coach in Europe for young athletes aspiring to play professional
hockey.
Williams played AAA
hockey in the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League (now the Greater Toronto
Hockey League) and played Junior B for the Wexford Raiders in the MetJHL. Schaly grew up playing AAA hockey in
Barrie, ON and played Junior A for the Barrie Colts and Richmond Hill Dynes. He earned a NCAA Scholarship to Plattsburgh State University of New York in 1989 and
then went on to play professionally in Europe from 1993-1998.
Schaly plans
to draw from his experience in Europe to introduce his players to different
approaches to the game. “I gained a lot of experience and insight from playing
with players from other countries like Russia, Finland, Sweden, Czech and
Slovakia. Each country has a different hockey philosophy and style of play
which has helped me as a coach,” he said.
Williams said
he considers NCP to be an organization built on the strong character of its
players, coaches and executives and is happy to be joining the U-18 staff. “Like any team, the challenge will be our strong
competition,” he said. "We're looking forward to meeting this challenge with a strong U-18 roster."