Written for Mediaplanet‘s 2014 Bones and Joints campaign.
Published in September 2014 for online and in print.
To Sherwood “Sherry” Bassin, hockey is a way of life.
“I just love the sport…It kind of gets in your blood,” says Bassin, who has coached and managed teams at all levels for more than 50 years and is the current General Manager of the OHL’s Eerie Otters. “I really enjoyed crafting young people, establishing values for them, and giving them some direction.”
And part of that direction is training athletes to avoid injuries.
“By the nature of being physical, there could be injuries. We prepare ourselves but there’s risk in whatever you do,” says Bassin. “The real issue is not the will to win,” he says. “It’s the will to prepare to win.”
That preparation includes specialized stretching and training designed by a team of trainers, physiotherapists, and support staff, focused on minimizing that risk through exercise and warm-ups.
The famed coach has won at every level of hockey, but in the 1990s, Bassin found himself preparing to take on a new opponent.
Ishani Nath 