Wayne Nogier is the new full-time trainer for the Mustangs.  (Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media)

By Ben Tompkins

Wayne Nogier

Mustangs hire new full-time trainer

Aug 29, 2024 | 7:44 AM

The Melfort Mustangs have hired a full-time trainer.

Last season, duties were split between a variety of people, as the team seemed to have different personnel on the bench on any given night.

As the season wore on, however, one man in particular stepped in as often as he could, and will now be taking over full-time.

“I’m really excited and I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” explained Wayne Nogier. “I think the team was happy with what I was able to provide as a fill-in guy last year, so they asked me if I could coordinate my life around providing full-time coverage for them and it’s an opportunity that I jumped on.”

Nogier has an extensive background in healthcare, along with time spent as a member of Hockey Canada, and was around for the majority of Melfort’s playoff run this past season, including their Centennial Cup trip to Oakville, Ont.

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Up until last year, it had roughly been 20 years since Nogier had done anything like this, having previously served with the Canadian Athletic Therapy Association and the Canadian Saskatchewan College of Paramedics.

He also spent about 15 years working with hockey and football teams in the province, even working with Hockey Canada’s junior women’s team, back in the 90s.

Nogier told northeastNOW he felt it was time to come back to this line of work, now that his kids are all grown up and he got blessing from his current employer at Mont St Joseph Home in Prince Albert.

“The calibre of activity here is really a skill set that I bring back into my work career, so being around these high-performance athletes and coaches and working in that and taking that stuff back, it’s really interesting how the skills in my professional life translate really quite well into what I do,” he said.

“It’s just about building up confidence in leading people and building up confidence in working with young athletes. All of that really translated into something that I felt I needed to do, and the fact that it’s my home community, just being able to have an impact really appeals to me personally.”

Nogier will be with the club, on the bench, for both home and away games this year, providing medical attention when needed.

He’s looking forward to continuing the camaraderie he found with the team last year.

“At this level, there are lots of things that can occur, so the injuries are real sometimes and they need real attention. Having somebody who’s committed to a program like this really just provides excellence within that program as another piece of the puzzle. We want to provide these players with the best opportunity where they can develop in a safe environment,” added Nogier.

“For the number of times that I filled in last year, I commented a number of times to my wife saying how I haven’t been on the bus for 20 years, but the conversations have not changed. A great group of players, coaches, staff, and everyone that’s associated with the club. There’s a genuine family that’s built here as the season goes on, so it’s just a lot of fun to be around.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

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