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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, February 7, 2013 · 24 Sports Oakville Beaver By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Hockey marketing expert to head OSC executive he Oakville Soccer Club's new executive director is best known for his work in a completely different sport. David Harris has worn several different hats for major hockey organizations in his career. He most recently worked as the director of Canadian business development of The Messier Project for Cascade Sports, a program that addressed concussions in hockey and their consequences. Previous to that, Harris held positions with two Ontario Hockey League teams, serving as director of operations for the Mississauga IceDogs and as director of marketing and media relations for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He also worked in senior marketing for numerous special hockey events, including the World Under-17 Hockey Championship and the MasterCard Memorial Cup. However, the 42-year-old Blind River, Ont., native doesn't feel that a lack of soccer background will be an issue as he replaces Paul Varian, who resigned from his chief administrative officer position with the club last fall. "Although my background is hockey and marketing, those skills are easily transferable," said Harris, who will officially begin his new role Monday. "My experience is not on the ice. It is a management of day-to-day operations and of people in different settings and different areas, from recreational to high performance. "Luckily, I do know a little bit about soccer," he added. "But I like to surround myself with smart people -- smarter people than I am -- and allow them to do their jobs." Outside of his previous sports experience, Harris also held the roles of regional marketing and relationship manager for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and director of marketing for the John Labatt Centre. "Dave's experience in the corporate world positions him well to exercise strong leadership in our fiscal and operational management," OSC president Jennifer Madill said in a release. "In addition, Dave's extensive involvement in elite hockey organizations provides the Oakville Soccer Club with a unique T opportunity to leverage his knowledge of best practices and to increase our club's focus on a superior customer experience." Harris said the opportunity to work with the Oakville Soccer Club was intriguing for several reasons. "It's the largest soccer club in North America, so right off the bat I was excited about that," Harris said. "I've met with the board -- I will not meet the staff until next week, but I've had some contact via phone and email -- and they're a high-level professional organization. I've been very impressed with the people putting in time to run the club. There are some very skilled people, not only with what they're doing with the club but with their own lives. Everyone on that board is a high achiever. You can't help but learn from people like that." Happiness of members important Harris's primary role will be implementing the club's five-year strategic plan and long-term development strategy, two initiatives that began under Varian's watch. Harris said he hopes to continue the work that is already being done, but noted he will be assessing how the club's current direction is impacting the entire membership, not just elite players. "Is our membership still up? Is it still happy? Are we developing our players from the grassroots level to elite status? And are we developing recreational players?" Harris said. "You don't want recreational players to think they're secondclass citizens, either. You want to make sure everybody has a good time. It's about a good experience overall, but you can't hide the fact you want your elite players to grow as well." As someone with a heavy marketing background, Harris said he'll also strive to increase the club's presence in the Oakville community. "I would like to see more publicity, promotion and marketing," he said. "I'd also like to see us focus on corporate sales. We come from a position where we have 13,000 to 14,000 members. When you add in (parents and siblings), your membership is over 26,000. That's a tremendous buying group... If you can leverage that to do more for your club and more in the community, why wouldn't you do that?" OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO Kyler Philip (in black, pictured during last year's Halton junior girls' volleyball final) and the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders are hosting the All-Catholic Senior Girls Volleyball Tournament this week. The tournament concludes tomorrow (Friday) at Aquinas. STA hosting provincial tourney With high school playoffs just a week away, Halton's senior girls' volleyball teams will have an opportunity to play some high-level competition this week. Thirty-six schools will vie for provincial bragging rights at the All-Catholic Senior Girls Volleyball Tournament hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday). "This tournament is certainly always a good warm-up for the playoffs," said tournament convener Peter Szpakowski. "And this year, with no public schools, it's a good warm-up for OFSAA." The tournament, established 36 years ago in North Bay, brings together the top Catholic high school teams from across the province. Halton teams have had great success in the past at the tournament. Burlington's Assumption is the defending champion and in 2010, Loyola defeated Aquinas in the final. Though Aquinas is the host school, Loyola will also host pool games today and tomorrow, and Loyola and Holy Trinity will host playoff matches tomorrow. The championship game is set for 5 p.m. tomorrow at Aquinas. All three schools will take part in the tournament. Holy Trinity currently sits second in the Halton standings with a 6-2 record, followed closely by Aquinas and Loyola at 5-3. Aquinas's junior team, which has yet to drop a set this season, will also take part in the tournament as a last-minute replacement for Windsor's Holy Names. Other Halton teams competing at the tournament will be Assumption (which is undefeated in Halton league play), Notre Dame and Corpus Christi of Burlington and Christ the King of Georgetown. The teams will play in nine four-team pools. At the conclusion of pool play today, the teams will be split into three divisions. First- and second-place finishers in the pool play will compete for the championship. Third- and fourth-place finishers will vie for the B (at Loyola) and C division titles (at Holy Trinity). "Having attended many of these amazing events," Szpakowski said, "we hope to continue the tradition of excellence by providing everyone with a tournament that will be remembered as the highlight of their season." -- Herb Garbutt