Rusty Hastings coached his 1996-97 Barrie Minor Hockey Association minor novice AAA club to the Ontario Minor Hockey Association AAA championship. Over the 1996-97 season the team recorded 54 wins, seven losses and eight ties. They had a 48-game unbeaten streak and won five tournaments.
Other nominees for the 1997 Coach/Team Official of the Year were:
Dale Baker coached Innisdale Secondary School senior boys volleyball team to a second straight Georgian Bay high school title. Baker also co-ordinates the Athletic Society at Innisdale. She also helped coach girls football team and girls rugby teams. She also coaches a Georgian Cubs volleyball team and has helped raise money for elementary school sports. Baker has also coached minor soccer.
Keith O’Toole has been a member of Barrie Minor Baseball Association for 18 years. He has served as as president of B.M.B.A. for the last8 years. O’Toole started the B.M.B.A. girls league in 1994 and coached with Georgian College in 1997. He also organized baseball exchange program with a Quebec league. He was also a member of the Barrie Minor Hockey Association executive in 1993-94 and has coached midget hockey for two years. O’Toole was United Way chairman for Liquor Control Board of Ontario for four years.
