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April 2017 Issue #53
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BEHIND THE BENCH Special Edition
Getting to Know Matthew Lapierre, Coach of Sweden’s Kungälv IK U-14 Team By Molly Kett
M
atthew Lapierre will be coaching Sweden’s Kungälv team when they face Cornwall’s Seaway Valley Rapids Minor Bantam AA Team in the exhibition game to be played this April 14th. Lapierre is a 20-year-old originally from Cornwall, who has been living, working in the small city of Kungälv Sweden for nearly two years. He just began coaching the team for the 2015/2016 year. “My athletic history is pretty much like any
town I grew up in,” says Lapierre.
Lapierre is looking forward to the upcoming exhibition game. “What I am looking forward to the most, for this game, is being able to come back to Cornwall and play against the team I grew up playing for. When I was part of the minor Bantam Rapids team in 2010/2011, we had the opportunity to host a team from Kungälv that season. To have the chance, this year, to be a part of the experience from the Swedish team’s point of view is going to be really special for me. I am really looking forward to bringing my team from Kungälv to Cornwall and to introduce them to the
In terms of Lapierre’s coaching philosophies, he says his team members would describe him as “tough, but fair.” “I believe that when the boys are at the U14 age group (Minor Bantam), you must push them to be their best, every time they are on the ice. I always preach to my players that you must practice as you want to play,” says Lapierre. “Although I think it is important to push the boys to be their best, I also believe it is equally important to make sure that they have fun when they come down to the arena every day. If the players enjoy hockey and enjoy being at the arena, they will be much more open to listening to coaching. On top of that, if they enjoy playing, it also means they will continue to develop and play hockey for many years.”
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other typical Canadian; hockey, hockey, and more hockey. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to play many years of high-level hockey, with the majority of my career spent playing for the Seaway Valley Rapids,” says Lapierre. “As I got older and entered high school, I really tried to get involved in playing as many school sports as I could. This included mainly basketball, volleyball, and high school hockey. Unfortunately, due to the fact that many of the sports coincided with each other, I was forced to stick to mostly just playing hockey. I played until I was 17, and then quit playing when I started attending University of Ottawa. That is when I began coaching.” Lapierre began coaching with the Kungälv team part time for the 2015/2016 season and has taken on a larger role this season. He has also signed on to coach the U16 team next year. “Since I moved halfway across the world and I was completely new to the area, being a part of the local hockey community was a great way for me to get to know more people. After thoroughly enjoying my year of helping out the team for the 2015/2016 season, I decided I wanted to take a bigger role in the club for the next season. That led to me deciding to be ‘co-head coach’ of the team for the 2016/2017 season, and eventually signing on to continue coaching U16 for the upcoming 2017/2018 season,” says Lapierre.
In terms of the upcoming game, Lapierre hopes the boys will enjoy the experience of playing hockey in Canada, as for many it will be a once in a lifetime experience. But he’s also hoping to come out with a win. “Nothing would make me happier than to beat the Rapids. I would love to beat the team I grew up playing for, with the team I now currently coach,” says Lapierre. Lapierre’s favourite coaching memory actually comes from his time coaching this year’s team in Sweden at a tournament in Växjo. “It was the first time I got to go away to a tournament with a team I was head coach for, and it was a great weekend,” says Lapierre. “The best part of the tournament was the heart the boys showed in the ‘playoff round’ on the final day. We needed to win our last game to finish second in the tournament, and we were down 2-1 with only a couple of minutes left to play. We called a timeout and really challenged the boys not to quit, and to fight hard to win the game. After the timeout, we scored 2 goals in about 30 seconds and won the game 3-2. Although it was nice to win the silver medals, the real win for me was seeing how happy and relieved our players were to win that game. As a coach, seeing the boys fight extremely hard and get rewarded like they did that game was the best feeling in the world.” Who will win the exhibition between the two teams? Head out to watch the exhibition game April 14th to find out!