| The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the organization’s coaching education program |
| COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Tom Kehr (Holland, Mich.) has been named the Walter Yaciuk Award recipient for 2019-20 it was announced today by USA Hockey. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contribution to the organization’s coaching education program during many years of service as a volunteer. The award is named in honor of the late Walter Yaciuk, who was USA Hockey’s first-ever Coach-In-Chief. The longest-serving member of the Coaching Education Program staff in Michigan, Kehr has held multiple volunteer roles since 1992 dedicated to bettering educational programs and the overall development of coaches in the state of Michigan and beyond. A Level 5 USA Hockey certified coach, Kehr boasts an impressive resume, including 19 years of coaching at both the youth and collegiate club level. In the 1994-95 season, Kehr coached his team to a Tier II Midget AA State Championship as well as a third-place finish at the youth Tier II 17U USA Hockey National Championship in Odgen, Utah. In 2003, Kehr took on the role of district association coaching & education (ACE) coordinator and was named USA Hockey’s national ACE administrator a few years later. While stepping back from his ACE leadership in 2018, Kehr has remained heavily involved in the coaching education program, leading clinics in western Michigan and assisting with other various clinics as time permits. Kehr has played a significant role in coaching education both for the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association and nationally for more than 25 years, and in addition to helping lead coaching clinics, he continues today to serve as senior associate coach-in-chief for the Coaching Director Program. |
