Time to give something back
It’s never good to hear that someone you know has cancer. It’s even worse when that person is someone whose contribution to the local community has been tremendous.
I heard last week that former Acadia hockey Axemen head coach and athletic director Don Wells is being treated for cancer. The news came as a bit of a shock because I have many memories of Don and none of them include a man battling a life-threatening disease.
Rather, I visualize a guy in sweat pants and shell jacket, Acadia logo as stark and bright as Hester Prynne’s Scarlet Letter upon his chest. He’s wearing hockey gloves and carries a stick, using it to slide a puck back and forth for a moment or two as if recalling his own glory days as a player. He eschews a helmet, of course, and why not? No lid could possibly cap that thick shock of dark hair.
A whistle on a lanyard hangs around his neck and sturdy young men swirl around him as practice begins in the old Ice Palace. He chats with assisstant coach Muck Reading and the thunder of pucks echoes off the walls in this ancient place.
His charges work hard to stay warm; the only rink colder in the AUAA is at St. Mary’s and, for a goaltender like me, the preliminary skate is crucial. Rubber fired at a hundred miles an hour seems to hurt just a little bit more when you’re cold.
Still, the mood is relaxed, like the man himself. You can tell each time he steps on the ice he has come home. There’s much to love about the game and his dedication to it as a player and coach is as apparent as his desire to work hard, offer advice and win.
Funny how, when he lifts that whistle to his lips, the aspect of the workout changes. It’s one thing to pleasure skate, crack wise and flick pucks for the hell of it; something else entirely when it’s time to get down to business and represent the university as its varsity hockey squad.
Such is the dichotomy Don Wells represents: a loquacious man with a quick wit and a fierce competitor who wanted the best not only for his players but for the university they represented.
Fact is, these qualities in such combination are rare. Players and coaches either have it or they don’t, and Don Wells has it in spades. His tenure as head hockey coach was impressive, his contributions to the Acadia community as athletic director substantial. The new Acadia Arena stands as a huge feather in his professional and personal cap.
To say he has made a lasting impression would be to understate the case. Small wonder a group of friends have rallied to his side in this difficult time and planned a reception and benefit concert in his honour. Everything gets underway 5 p.m. at St. John’s Anglican Parish Hall on Main Street, Wolfville, Sept. 22. A silent auction, refreshments and some storytelling is being organized.
Later that evening, at 7: 30 p.m. in Denton Hall at Acadia, a concert featuring Don’s favourite country and western music will take place. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at Cochrane’s Pharmasave in Wolfville.
No surprise that Don wants all proceeds from this event to be donated entirely to the Annapolis Valley Divisional Health Authority Cancer Fund to assist all cancer patients.
He has never had any trouble giving and it’d be nice for those who have been touched by him as a coach, clinician, teacher or friend to show up and give something back Sept. 22.
