On Dec. 15, he finished his last day of lengthy service with the IGA Grocery chain, and stepped into his new career with the Ontario Ball Hockey Association (OBHA).

I'm pretty thrilled. I can't wait to get going and to see where the new Job leads, said Robillard, speaking by phone with The Mirror prior to Christmas.

On Dec. 18 he began his new position as the Ontario Ball Hockey Association's Coaching and Officiating Director.

Robillard said the OBHA job opportunity landed in his lap quickly, after The OBHA recently received a substantial grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF).

They (the OBHA) called me Nov. 1 and indicated they were about to get approval for the OTF grant and asked me if I would be interested in the position. Basically things worked out from there and I accepted,² said Robillard.

While he feels his extensive background at the local level in ball hockey, within the Midland-Penetanguishene area helped, it was also enhanced by his work within the food industry.

At work I was dealing with budgets and guidelines and various deadlines And a few other things. So I feel all those things made me a good candidate For the position, said Robillard.

He feels his knowledge of the game, both at the local level and province-wide will help him as he continues to grow ball hockey across Ontario.

In the last five years, the number of players in the childrens program Has almost doubled. The number of women playing ball hockey has also doubled In five years, while the number of men playing ball hockey has grown by About 14 or 15 per cent, said Robillard. While his work will require him to travel to tournaments around the Province and make regular visits to the OBHA head office in Vaughan, a major part Of the work Robillard will do will be from a basement office at home. Robillard had been working in the grocery business for 32 years, beginning when was in Grade 11. So leaving that part of his life behind was somewhat tough on his last day at the Penetanguishene outlet.

The support from his family made taking the decision to take the new OBHA job easy.

He admits it will be different working from home, and there will be challenges, but he is looking forward to diving into his new role with the OBHA. In the immediate future, one of his priorities will be to enhance the education programs for officials and coaches currently available within the OBHA.

The coaches program at the moment is pretty much undeveloped, although They have some research which has been done on it years ago. It has never Been implemented. My main focus this spring will be to see that the officials program moves forward, said Robillard.

He said there is a good core group of volunteers in place across the province, but the goal now is for the OBHA to give them support and guidance.

And while he will be thinking more provincially, he won¹t be abandoning the Penetanguishene-Midland Ball Hockey Association.

With a dedicated executive in place, Robillard is confident the PMBA Will continue to thrive and grow beyond the approximately 650-plus players it has now.

Robillard's dream is to one day see his two-and-a-half year old grandson Nicolas play ball hockey locally.

With nobody having help the OBHA job before him, Robillard has an opportunity to take the role and create a new path with the ball hockey group.

When I started in ball hockey in Penetanguishene, it was all about getting better and improving and helping to grow the sport. This new role I have is no different, but on a bigger scale, he said.

As the governing body in province, the Ontario Ball Hockey Association has been in operation since 1974.

The Mirror
By Mike Dodd
Dec.18, 2006