Little pays tribute to minor hockey coach
By Kristine MacDougall
Published: Wed, Jul 5th, 2006

The NHL draft is an unforgettable experience for all young hockey players. This year, it was also a special day for one Cambridge minor hockey coach.

Glen Podger, 45, has coached minor hockey in the southwestern Ontario community for more than a decade. Sadly, that career came to a sudden halt when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 2004.
However, the diagnosis hasn’t stopped him from enjoying a full life.

One of those enjoyable moments came recently, as he watched one of his former players, 18-year-old Barrie Colts captain Bryan Little, get drafted into the National Hockey League as a first-rounder.

“I wasn’t going to miss that for anything,” Podger told The Advance last week.

“There was a group of us that had gotten together for a barbecue. A lot of the boys that had played on Bryan’s minor hockey team were in the basement watching it as well. (Although) I wasn’t down there with them, I had it on the TV upstairs.”

While Podger couldn’t be in Vancouver for the draft, he still shared in Bryan Little’s big day.

“It was very emotional,” he said of Little being an Atlanta Thrasher. “I was so proud of him. I was overcome with happiness.”
As exciting as it was to see Bryan Little drafted into the NHL, there was another special moment for Podger during the TSN broadcast.

Immediately following Little’s selection, he sent out a few words of support and wanted his minor hockey coach to know he was thinking about him on this important occasion.

“It was such a surprise to hear him say that ... they came back from a commercial and (TSN commentator) Bob McKenzie mentioned it. It was a total shock,” said Podger.

“I know he was watching,” Little told The Advance upon his return home to Cambridge. He added that Glen Podger had had a profound influence on his development in his younger hockey days – both on and off the ice.

“Playing for him in minor hockey got me to take the off-ice stuff seriously,” he said. “That last year I played with him, we won the league (championship). He was probably one of the coaches I remember most from minor hockey.”

Glen Podger also had some happy memories.

“When I coached Bryan, I gave him a ride to practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I would also give him (and another boy) a ride home,” said Podger.

“I coached him for two years and then he played in Cambridge for Junior B and we used to go to all the home games. I think that’s where we developed a friendship.”

The coach added that there were some humorous moments he shared with Little as a 13-year-old. “I didn’t have the best car in the world, so we always made fun of whether it was going to make it up the hill,” Podger said with a laugh.

As Bryan Little now prepares to take the next step in his hockey career, Glen Podger reflects on the skilled and talented young forward that Little has become. He shares these words of advice for the budding NHL star.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” he said, noting that the hard work, quiet leadership, and confidence that Little possesses will serve him well in his NHL career.

“The most important thing is that he shouldn’t try to change anything.”

Photo courtesy of Little Family.