Bob Heyes got the relationship-type 鈥榠t鈥檚 not you, it鈥檚 us鈥� line in being dismissed as head coach of the Victoria Shamrocks after eight winning seasons and four Western Lacrosse Association championships.
鈥淏ob has done a great job but it was time for a change,鈥� said GM Chris Welch.
鈥淓ight years is a long run for a head coach in our league and we felt the time was right for a change. It鈥檚 just a reality of coaching in sports that it is a temporary job, and every coach will eventually run their course with a team. I feel we have reached that point.鈥�
Heyes never missed the playoffs in eight seasons 鈥� won the league championship in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019 and the Mann Cup national Senior A championship in 2015 鈥� during his tenure behind the Victoria bench. His record was 157-83-3.
鈥淚 was surprised,鈥� said Heyes, about the decision.
鈥淭he expectation for this franchise is to be in the Mann Cup conversation every year. I felt I lived up to those expectations. It was quite a ride.鈥�
Welch stressed: 鈥淚t was not for cause.鈥�
鈥淏ob has done everything we have asked of him and his record will be hard to match,鈥� added the GM.
鈥淭here are no hard feelings or ill will on our part. But we needed a fresh voice and have been feeling that for a while. It was a tough decision but needed to be made.鈥�
Welch said Heyes was offered another position within the organization but declined in order to focus on other projects. Among them, said Heyes, is to write a book about the history of the Shamrocks, which stretches back to 1950.
Heyes鈥� Shamrocks pedigree goes back to his playing days. He was a goaltender with the club from 1989 to 2000, winning two Mann Cups in the crease in 1997 and 1999. He later joined the team as an assistant coach under Walt Christiansen before being named head coach in 2012.
鈥淚 was given the pieces to the puzzle by management and got to work with some of the best players in the world,鈥� acknowledged Heyes, about his head coaching stint.
鈥淏ut some of my best memories are of the local players on the team who achieved their life-long dreams of putting on a Shamrocks jersey. I never took being head coach of this franchise for granted.鈥�
Welch said the team is in the process of signing Heyes鈥� successor but did not give a timeline.
The 2020 WLA season was cancelled due to the pandemic. WLA commissioner Paul Dal Monte said several options are being considered for the 2021 season and that a schedule is expected to be released this month.
