KAMLOOPS — Guy Charron coached the Kamloops Blazers from November 2009 to the end of the 2013-14 season.
Four years after leaving the bench in hockey, Charron is going to the commissioners chair —- of the Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League.
It all started last fall through Charron’s wife, Michelle, who is involved with female lacrosse.
“The commissioner of the Thompson Okanagan League was stepping down,” says Guy Charron. “They asked me if I’d be interested in a role like that.”
When no one else showed an interest in the job, Guy was the guy —- the new commissioner of the TOJLL.
Charron says it’s something completely new and foreign to him, and has been challenging.
It became more of a hornets nest with the Thompson League going against the wishes of the B.C. Lacrosse Association, which wanted the league to be a tier two junior B, under a new three tier system.
The league instead declared itself a tier one junior B league.
“I depend on our governors, and the people who have been around our league for a number of years,” says Charron.
“I respect their opinion — so I’ve spoken to some people from the BCLA, but I’ve spoken to our governors and I’ll support whatever they feel is the right thing for the league. That’s where it’s at. But to give you all the details of what is going on, if it’s good or bad at this point, I can’t really tell you.”
There’s a Thompson Okanagan League meeting in Vernon tomorrow, which Charron will chair as the commissioner.
He says his mandate, as he sees it, will be to do what’s beat for the players and the league.
“I don’t think any of the governors in our league are opposed for one of their players to go to junior A,” says Charron. “The situation is that they’re (BCLA) proposing an agreement that maybe some of those players from this league who have a good chance to to make the team (junior A) could play tier one in the Lower Mainland that would allow them a better, easy way to play some of the games in junior A. You don’t want to hurt your league — if something can be worked out amicably between both leagues, fine,” says Charron. “That’s the biggest discussion we’ll have tomorrow, is what direction we want to take, and what do we decide to do.”
