Sep 22, 2013 | charlene | 2351 views
Mike McLean New Referee-in-Chief
The WSMHA Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike McLean as the Association's new Referee-in-Chief. He succeeds Paul Thornhill who has resigned due to business commitments. Mike McLean is a long-standing member of the Stouffville minor hockey community. In addition to serving as a senior on-ice official for a number of years, he has been an assistant coach at the rep level for several seasons.
According to WSMHA President, Don Easter Mr. McLean is an ideal candidate for the newly-revamped Referee-in-Chief position. "The WSMHA needs to focus on the training and development of new officials. We have a number of senior officials who have done an excellent job over the years, and we are counting on them to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. But we have a significant gap both in age and numbers between these older officials and the young kids just starting out. This needs to be addressed as an issue of some urgency. Training, mentoring and developing officials will be Mike's first priority. His experience as a referee and as a coach will enable him to bring a unique perspective to this role." Mr. Easter added "I want to thank Paul Thornhill on behalf of the WSMHA and its members for his many years of service to the Association. While we are sorry to lose him in the role as Referee-in-Chief we understand that his expanding business commitments must come first. We are also very pleased that Paul will continue as an on-ice official as his time allows."