This month we feature long time Glace Bay Colonel’s coach, Jim Wilson. Jim hails from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and is retired. He has been coach of the world famous Glace Bay Colonels and is one of the most winning coaches in Canadian Little League history. Jim is 69 years old and has no plan on giving up what he loves to do, which is coaching his beloved Colonels.
Jim has been involved with Little League for over 56 years, while coaching over 26 years with the Colonels. Jim has been to 19 National tournaments and has made it to seven finals, winning two and runner-up five times. This is an impressive record as most coaches are still looking for their first title.
We sat down with Jim and asked him a few questions.
- How would your players describe you as a coach? They would say I’m strict but fair.
- What do you think are your coaching strengths? As a coach, my strengths are: I try to instill a work ethic in my players by practicing a lot, constantly going through the game situations, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and having them come together as a group.
- How do you develop trust with your players? I develop trust with my players by always encouraging them to achieve their potential.
- What is the most rewarding part of coaching? Most rewarding part of coaching is seeing the players smile after they accomplish their goals.
- What is the biggest achievement you have had as a coach? The biggest achievement I have had is being a part of Glace Bay Little League and seeing this league grow and prosper. I like to meet all coaches and players and reminisce of years gone by. Also my two appearances in the Little League World Series as Canadian champions are probably my biggest achievements as a coach.
We would like to thank Jim for his time and dedication to Little League over the past 50+ years.