It was a stunning and improbable run to the U Sports national tournament to cap off Brett Gibson’s 20th season at the helm of the Queen’s Gaels men’s hockey program. But perhaps even more stunning is the fact that it would be his last.
This week, the Queen’s men’s hockey coach decided to step down.
It was an announcement that caught many in Canadian university hockey circles by surprise.
“I missed too much time away from my family,” Gibson said. “And that’s the biggest love of my life. Hockey’s always secondary. So I just wanted to make sure I was a dad first and foremost.”
Gibson walks away from the Gaels having brought the program to the national tournament four times, including one OUA Queen’s Cup championship.
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But it was a long road to get there.
“For the first 10 years, it seemed so far away and so in the distance,” he said, adding how in the summer months he was always thinking, “How do I get this team to a national championship level? If you weren’t around 20 years ago. The program is night and day, what it was, and I take great pride.”
Part of what got him there was his approach. Gibson says that over the years, he became more of a player-centric coach.
“I felt that my job was to do a service … to help these players get to the best of their ability, and, in order to do that, I had to have their buy-in as well,” Gibson said. “So there was more communication, there was more relationship building.”
He says what finally got them over the hump was their ability to recruit top-tier university-aged players.
“I remember when I took over the program, my goal was to get one major junior player, and by the end, my roster had 26 or 27.”
Gibson says he’s not done with the role just yet. In fact, he’s still busy courting recruits and hopes to be part of the process to select his successor.
And although he’s stepping away from the Gaels, he’s not stepping away from hockey.
“I’m going to coach my son this year coming up and give back to him, and I’m going to spend more time coaching my daughter for a year … so it’s nice, but I am just going to sit back and be a dad.”