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Memorial game Saturday for beloved coach Sid Davis

A memorial hockey game for former Williams Lake coach Sid Davis will take place this Saturday.
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Sid Davis

A memorial hockey game for beloved former Williams Lake coach Sid Davis will take place this Saturday.

Scheduled for 8 p.m. on rink two at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex, the idea for the game came about after a large group of some of Davis’s former players wanted to do something to honour his legacy.

Davis coached several years of rep hockey in Williams Lake and was the head coach of the 2003 Williams Lake Midget ‘AAA’ Broncos who, ultimately, went on to win a provincial championship that year. That team was backstopped by none other than Carey Price, who was just one of the many players influenced by Davis’s coaching style.

Bill McGinnis, another one of Davis’s former players who was a member of the provincial-winning team and is one of the memorial game’s organizers, said it should be a great tribute to a coach who helped improve the lives of many of his players.

“Looking back just on the non-hockey park of it all, the impact Sid had on us as young men transformed us into men by his coaching style and his overall outlook on life,” McGinnis said.

“Obviously, it was amazing to win provincials, but I think he definitely had that impact on everyone regardless of where they ended up in life — with Carey going to the NHL or just everyone ending up where they did.”

McGinnis played under Davis for three seasons of rep hockey, and said participants in Saturday’s game (so far roughly 30) are looking forward to getting together to share memories of Davis in a “familiar” setting.

Davis moved to Fort St. John six years ago with his wife, Jen, and three children, but that didn’t stop him from keeping in touch with many of his former players back in the lakecity.

“Sid was actually wanting to start a golf tournament every year here in Williams Lake just to get the guys back together from the team,” McGinnis said. “That’s something moving forward we might be looking to do — have a memorial in the summer each year and have everyone come together. It would be a real positive thing.”

Davis died suddenly just before Christmas of a heart attack.

There will also be a celebration of life for Davis this Sunday, Feb. 11, at the Elk’s Hall starting at 1 p.m. In addition, a banner will be hung in rink one at the CMRC in Davis’s honour, next to his team’s provincial-winning banner.



Greg Sabatino

About the Author: Greg Sabatino

Greg Sabatino graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008.
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