Tim Grewal’s Lifelong Passion For Hockey Has Continued To Grow
Tim Grewal, while he holds players accountable as a hockey coach, also knows how much fun hockey can be for his players.
As the coach of the San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls 16U Tier I team, he describes an environment for his team that includes elements of fun like playing music at practice to keep the pace up and enjoying snacks at video review sessions to keep things loose while offering constructive feedback.
He’s helped lead the program to growth and success for the past seven years.
“I love it. I love being part of the Sharks,” Grewal said. “It’s such a privilege. It’s an honor.”
Grewal was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, an area with plenty of lakes and ponds so he had the opportunity to skate starting at 6 years old. He was surrounded by neighborhood kids who played pickup hockey, and he fell in love with the game quickly.
His passion for the game grew even more watching the Winnipeg Jets and the Canada Cup in 1987. Seeing the greats like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux “was pretty inspiring,” Grewal said.
He moved to Brampton, Ontario, just outside of Toronto, and played street hockey with kids who remain his best friends today. He also played ice hockey and high-level ball hockey.
Grewal’s parents immigrated to Canada in the early 1970s from Northwest India. They’re Punjabi and from the Sikhism religion. Growing up, it was important to Grewal that he went to their temple, getting regular exposure to the values and beliefs of Sikhism.
His parents were supportive of his interest in sports like hockey, too, registering him for hockey so he could try out the organized sport. But going to the rinks, it became apparent to Grewal that his parents looked distinctly different than other parents, with his mother wearing a Salwar Kameez, a traditional Indian gown. It made for some trying times.
“There were some kids that made some remarks and comments,” Grewal said. “I would not know how to react to it. Sometimes it would be embarrassment or even frustration, anger, whatever you want to call it. But for the most part, I just kept it internal. Because I just loved the game, and my parents were supportive of it.”
Grewal also shared hockey with his two children, starting when his son was 6 years old. Grewal wanted to “get some of his energy in a sport like hockey and allow him to make some friends” while also enjoying the game.
That’s also where Grewal dipped his toes into the water of coaching, in 2012, when he helped out at practices, running simple drills and pushing pucks around the ice.
While still in Canada, he coached a couple of years of Timbits youth hockey, house league, and then coached boys at the double-A level in the Toronto area.
Once his daughter, two years younger than her older brother, started playing hockey, too, Grewal became an assistant coach with her team helping head coach, Cheryl Pounder, a Canadian Olympic gold medalist.
Both of his kids, now 19 and 17, love hockey; his daughter is going to play college hockey next season.
While he coached in Brampton, which he noted was a very heavily South Asian community while he was there, Grewal appreciated being a mentor in the community.
“Parents that were my peers from an age level would come to me for advice on how their kid could get better in hockey, how they can register their kid, the fundamentals of the game, what are the steps to get them to start playing hockey,” Grewal said.
Over summers, he used to run his own skill clinics, which including a lot of Punjabi kids participating.
Once Grewal moved to San Jose in 2018, he started coaching a 10U team, in addition to his full-time job outside of the hockey world. He took it one season at a time behind the bench, not having any goals to still be coaching 13 years after he got involved with his son’s team.
“It’s just something I love doing,” Grewal said. “It’s a passion.”
He’s helped build the San Jose Jr. Sharks girls team into a competitive program over the years. He remembers the first year when only 12 kids showed up for tryouts. There’s still a core of about six players from that initial 10U group.
The girls program has only grown since he’s been in San Jose, drawing interest from players living in Southern California who want to play for the San Jose program. Girls are staying with the program, too, rather than leaving to go aboard or play other places.
“That just I think further reinforces how competitive as a group we’ve become and just the brand that we’ve built as a club,” Grewal said. “Our teams have done well at all over our ages: 14s, 12s, 19s. Obviously we got the chance to go to (Chipotle-USA Hockey Girls) nationals, and that’s just inspiring for our little Sharkies as well to be able to see that. A lot of continuity. So, we’ve been fortunate that we haven’t had attrition.”
He also recently conducted an introduction to hockey workshop with the Sharks at the temple. It drew in younger kids who hadn’t played hockey before. Grewal connected with parents, encouraging them to bring their kids to rinks and register them for organized hockey.
“It was such a rewarding experience,” Grewal said. “Hoping to do more of that, continue to inspire and grow the game in our communities.”
Grewal is proud to be part of the San Jose Sharks hockey community. He’s worked with Mark Smith, who played more than 300 NHL games with the Sharks, as a co-coach for the past three seasons. Grewal’s enjoyed seeing some of the other former Sharks like Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Scott Hannan become a part of the organization in a different way now, too.
“They’re just regular dadas and just regular coaches now,” Grewal said. “That’s been pretty cool.”
As a coach, Grewal is clear with expectations and accountability with his players, and that starts with arriving on time to practice. He likes to see “max compete” during practice and wants “competitive dogs,” a term he uses in a way of admiration. They’ve added players to the team over the years who have a competitive edge and are also fine with being held accountable while being good teammates.
Grewal encourages others who have a passion for hockey, particularly those from any minority community, to be part of the hockey community in some way.
“The game needs them,” he said. “The kids need them. You don’t have to be a coach. You can get involved in the hockey community in so many different ways. It takes a village, but get involved. Learn the game. Develop a passion for the game, get your kids into the game.
“We need more of us to really continue to inspire the next generation.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
Source: usahockey.com