NATIONAL BALL HOCKEY
ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

Toronto, ON – National Ball Hockey Association President Steve Rumsey announced Friday, December 21st the management team that will guide Men’s Team Canada into the 2013 World Championships in Toronto, Canada.

CHRIS CARR, comes to the program from the grassroots of our sport going back thirty years as a player in the Withrow Park program. He graduated to men’s ball hockey and right into the Ontario Premier Ball Hockey League with the Knights.

Chris returned to Withrow Park as a coach at the Provincial level of play and recently captured the Summer Games championship. His success comes down to three core pillars - culture, talent, and the system of play/game style.

He stresses great culture as a must-have ingredient at the elite level, regardless of how good the other two factors are. Without this there is nothing. He saw this as a player very early playing at Withrow Park and later moved to the Withrow Park Knights of the Ontario Provincial ‘A’ league and ended his playing career with the Toronto Panthers of the Ontario Premier Ball Hockey League.

Carr is a student of the game with a masterful ability at team dynamics and group building. He will teach, guide and elevate players to their potential.

NELSON LAJEUNESSE, simply one of the most decorated athletes in the sport at the league, provincial, national and international level of play.

He has a great understanding of the international style of play and an appreciation of what it will take as a player to compete at the World level. As a forward he competed on the world stage and by the end of his career was a steady defenceman who led by example both on and off the floor.

He was recognized for his leadership as a mentor in 2010 with the U20 program and this past summer was an assistant coach wining the Summer Games championship and returns to work with Chris Carr who they share the same team concepts and strategies.

He brings ten years of ball hockey coaching experience along with twenty years playing the game and his greatest strengths are to lead by example and these young men will learn and prepare under his guidance and coaching.

ANDREW PLATT, a student of the game, Platt can usually be found talking the game and is a mentor with strong communication skills and leader. He demands respect of the players and staff and places team goals above all others. He believes in work ethic and wants a players who will outwork the opposition and gain the ball to win all battles and do what it takes to win the game.

His philosophy and attitude have brought him many successes within his community, league and provincial play. His talents take on his identity and are never out worked.

This staff will have a big impact on the chemistry of a team. If success can be defined in other ways, like making progress, giving effort, how much did we learn, or how much better were we at the end of the tournament than at the beginning, the staff will be teaching important life lessons to the team.

The tactician, leader and motivator will give the 2013 team an opportunity to win gold, but the bigger message will stay with these men they coach for rest of their lives.

Carr, Lajeunesse and Platt will be meeting over the coming months to set in motion Team Canada’s operational plans, which will include player, support staff announcements and team logistics.