Paige Desmond
Any doubts local resident Bob Tkachuk may have had about his coaching abilities were, well, “squashed” recently when he was awarded the Coaching Achievement Award by Squash Ontario.
“I was kind of surprised,” Tkachuk said about the letter he received last month informing him of the honour.
Tkachuk and his wife, Mary-Beth, have been coaching in the local junior division for 15 years, working as a team to coach youngsters aged nine-18.
“We’ve had some kids at the [Ontario] Winter Games since 2000,” Tkachuk enthused, adding they travel to Winnipeg and down east to Toronto for various tournaments throughout the season.
According to Squash Ontario’s website, the award was created by its board of directors in 1999 to “recognize outstanding coaches in Ontario.”
“It is presented to a coach who has consistently exhibited, espoused, and taught the principles of respect, integrity, and fair play and who portrays a positive role model both for the game of squash and for the coaching profession,” it read.
A local team competed nationally this year in Victoria under the coaching guidance of Tkachuk and his wife.
Tkachuk is quick to point out he did not win the award alone, crediting Mary-Beth as his coaching partner all these years.
“I’m sharing it with her,” he said of the award.
The couple spends three-four hours a week coaching roughly 32 kids.
Tkachuk first got into the sport 25 years ago, through some friends with an interest in the sport. “They showed me the game,” he explained.
