Scott Musqua had nearly 25 years of coaching minor hockey in Yorkton under his belt when he applied to the Aboriginal Apprentice Coach Program (AACP) for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George.
“I thought it was an opportunity,” he said. “I figured I’d send in my application and see what happens.”
The AACP is a partnership between the Aboriginal Sport Circle, Canada’s Provincial/Territorial Aboriginal Sport Bodies, Provincial/Territorial Coaching Representatives, the Canada Games Council and the Coaching Association of Canada. Among many objectives, the AACP is designed to build coaching capacity within Indigenous communities and expose Indigenous coaches to elite and high-performance coaches.
Musqua’s application was successful and the then 45-year-old was selected as one of two Saskatchewan coaches to the AACP for 2015. He took a place behind the bench of the Saskatchewan boys’ hockey team as they prepared for and competed at the Games. He was joined by a mix of Western Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Saskatchewan Midget AAA coaches, including head coach Josh Dixon and assistant coaches Rich Pilon, Shaun Priel, Brad Herauf and Travis Harrington.
Team Saskatchewan Boys Hockey Team – 2015 Canada Winter Games.
Credit: Saskatchewan Games Council
“When you get a chance to spend some time with a guy like Rich Pilon or Josh Dixon, they just approach the game with more preparedness than a minor hockey coach would,” he said. “So I’ve adapted a lot of those things.”
Getting a front-row seat to how those elite-level coaches worked and the opportunity to work hands-on with them also gave Musqua the chance to grow and evolve his own coaching toolbox.
“You don’t want to mimic 100 per cent but essentially coaching is pretty much stealing ideas from everybody else and then kind of implementing it into your own style,” he said. “Those guys were pretty knowledgeable and it was good to be a part of that.”
And it wasn’t just the coaching staff that made an impact on Musqua, it was the interaction with the players on the team —including current Las Vegas Golden Knight Jake Leschyshyn— and their parents, as well as the overall experience of attending the Games.
“It gave me an opportunity to experience that high level of hockey and that next-level hockey player,” he said.
Now, almost seven years from his involvement with the Games and participation in the AACP, Musqua credits the program with helping him to further his own coaching career. Shortly after the Games concluded, he became an assistant coach with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers and is still with the team today.
“It opened so many doors,” Musqua said of the AACP. “This will be six years going on seven with the Terriers, so I attribute that to the program that I came out of there. I was kind of grassroots at the age of 45 and it’s kind of taken off from there.”
Scott Musqua (left) behind the bench with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers.
Credit: Simple Shots by Jackie
As for individuals who are thinking about taking part in the AACP for the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island, Musqua says to “don’t hesitate with your application, get it in and just go for it.” He adds that it’s also important that applicants include their non-sport experiences on their resume— noting that he included his counsellor certifications when he applied— as it all plays a role in coaching.
“Hockey isn’t just about the players on the ice, it’s about developing young men and women and you’re in a leadership role,” Musqua said. “As Indigenous men and women, we can offer that guidance to young people whether they are Indigenous or non-Indigenous people.”
Public Interest Forms for the 2023 Canada Winter Games AACP are now open and will close January 13, 2022. The AACP is open to coaches in any of the sport disciplines involved with the Canada Winter Games. More information about the program and the Public Interest Form can be found here.
