Legendary hockey coach Ted Nolan has received one of the country’s highest honours for athletics: the Order of Sport from Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Born and raised in Garden River First Nation, the former NHL coach of the year was honoured in the building category — not only for his success behind the bench, but for his dedication to inspiring Indigenous youth.
In 2004, Nolan helped create the Ted Nolan Foundation to support Indigenous women in their education and training. The foundation also manages the Rose Nolan Memorial Scholarship, named in honour of the coach’s late mother.
Nolan also co-created the 3NOLANS First Nation Hockey School with his sons Brandon and Jordan. The program was developed to work with First Nation youth to further develop their hockey skills and knowledge, but also to teach them the importance of living healthy active lifestyles, how to be positive role models, and how to become future leaders in their communities.
Last year, after releasing his memoir — Life in Two Worlds: A Coach’s Journey from the Reserve to the NHL and Back — Nolan joined our podcast for an in-depth interview about his career, the racism he endured along the way, and what truth and reconciliation mean to him.
You can watch some of that conversation in the YouTube video below.
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