For the love of the game, for the love of community

Albina Dagenais has not been a timekeeper and assignor for all of her 31
years as a volunteer with Thunder Bay Minor.

She’s a previous president of the North End Flames Hockey Association, coached,
skilled and managed the U15 and U18 Flames in prior years, and in addition
volunteers for the Boys and Girls Club.

She has, nonetheless, put her stamp on the place.

“I like timekeeping, I like doing it, however I believe my most pleasurable job was
operating tournaments.” Dagenais says. “I did Thunder Bay [Minor Hockey
Association] tournaments for years, and at North End we coated Port Arthur
Arena. I liked simply being on the rink and being a part of the entire
environment.

“I’m a go-getter. You simply put time apart to do the stuff you like to do.
I needed my son (then 9, now 40) to have experiences, so my time was put
on the again burner. I needed to make his expertise nice and anyone else
round. I simply made the time.”

Sad to see the hockey season go, blissful to have it again once more within the fall,
laughter and sage recommendation are two hallmarks that shine by for Dagenais.

“Over the years I see youngsters who both did timekeeping for me or who I noticed
within the penalty field who’re older now,” she says. “They come up and so they
offer you a hug and say, ‘Nice to see you. Thanks for everything you did.’
It’s these type of events that make you are feeling actually good about what
you’re doing for hockey.”

Dagenais additionally volunteers on the breakfast membership at St. Anne’s Elementary
School.

“I’ve had youngsters throughout hockey season come and provides me a present simply to thank
me for a way I handled them within the penalty field. Or how I deal with them within the
rink.”

For most hockey dad and mom, timekeeping is a process to be prevented – an excessive amount of
occurring to maintain monitor. Dagenais makes use of a e-book of her personal creation to maintain
the penalties straight.

“You put the 2 the 2 groups in there. In the center you set ‘TIME’ and
when folks are available in you write down the time immediately and what the penalty
was,” she explains. “If there’s heaps occurring, you write it down in that
e-book. When it settles down you switch it to the gamesheet. You could make
little notes in there for your self. It’s one of the best ways to do it. If you strive
to recollect instances and put it on the sport sheet immediately if you search for
there may very well be ten seconds gone.

“I name it the ‘penalty keep book.’ I get my timekeepers one yearly. I
insist they use it. I’m very anal about what I need achieved. It makes an enormous
distinction if unexpectedly, all hell breaks unfastened. You’ve received 5 guys
on one facet and 7 on the opposite facet, you higher know precisely what’s
occurring. If you’ve gotten that e-book you may write down all their numbers.

“Trying to do it on the gamesheet, it’s too small, for one, to do it actually
shortly. With the e-book you might be sloppy, so long as you may learn your
writing. When you switch it to the gamesheet, now it’s legible. You have
all of it there in chronological order, simply switch it over.”

So, there it’s – Timekeeping 101, courtesy of Albina Dagenais.

Wayne Fortes, president of the Thunder Bay Minor Hockey Association, is aware of
the worth of Dagenais’ largely unheralded work on the rink.

“Without the volunteers there’s no hockey, there’s no sports activities, no
organizations of any form,” he says. “Albina’s a key cog in our wheel,
there’s little doubt about it. She recruits the timekeepers, she organizes the
timekeepers. Meets with them. Makes positive they’re up on all the foundations, any
adjustments we’re making – particularly within the playoffs.

“Just protecting all of the slots crammed. Especially all by COVID, all of the
issues that have been occurring. She’d should make to makes adjustments both the
evening previous to the subsequent sport or the day of and she or he’s at all times managed to maintain
all of the slots crammed and able to go. She’s very organized, very detailed.
We have very, very, only a few complaints on our timekeepers. Tremendous
job.”

And then there’s the recommendation Dagenais dispenses as simply as timekeeping a
sport.

“It’s not just about hockey. It’s about life skills, it’s about respect,”
she says. “You must get together with all various kinds of folks. It’s
not simply the on-ice that’s essential. It’s behind the scenes, behind the
bench, within the dressing room… It’s not all concerning the wins. Yeah, it’s good
to win, that’s the bonus.”

You don’t need to mess with Albina Dagenais. She’ll rumble if vital.

“I’m not right here to be anyone’s buddy. I’m right here for the youngsters. And my
timekeepers, the youthful ones, I undertake them the six months of hockey, and
then I give them again to their dad and mom. For these six months I help
them,” says Dagenais, who units the bar at 13 or 14 years previous for rookie
timekeepers. “And I inform my timekeepers, ‘If you make a mistake, come clean with
it. We can repair it. Don’t attempt to cowl it up. It’ll get ten instances worse.’

“My timekeepers know if one thing occurs, in the event that they get harassed, I’ll again
them. I’ll help them. We’ll get one thing achieved. It’s an amazing first job
as a result of they be taught to pay attention. They be taught to work with different folks. If
they’ll deal with all of the noise and the bells and whistles, yelling and all
that … I’ve given most likely over 100 references to completely different timekeepers
I’ve had. If you’re going to decide to one thing, it’s best to commit all of the
means. I’ve at all times been that means.”

As a lot as Dagenais helps her crew, there’s a line she gained’t cross.

“I additionally instructed my timekeepers in the event that they textual content me, I’m not studying your lingo.
I’m too rattling previous,” she chuckles. “Text me in full sentences or I’m not
answering you. And they do.”