April 30, 2012 (Barrie, ON) – After an intensive search, the Board of Directors of Team Hardwood is pleased to announce its coaching staff for the 2012-13 season: Petr Jakl and Ron Howden.

In addition to his current role as coach of the Southern Ontario Training Centre, which serves high performance athletes who have completed high school, Petr Jakl will also coach athletes in the Team Hardwood Senior Devo “Gold” program, which is designed for high school age athletes who train on a year-round basis.

Petr holds a Masters degree in Physical Education and Sport from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic and has many years of experience coaching cross country skiing and other sports at the club, university, and masters level in Canada, the USA, and the Czech Republic.

Ron Howden will coach athletes in the Senior Devo ‚ “Silver” program, as well as athletes in our Junior Devo midget racing program. Ron is a former competitive skier who represented Canada at the 1987 Junior World Championships, and who raced in the 1988 Winter Olympics as a member of Great Britain’s nordic ski team. Ron has considerable coaching experience and credentials in cross country skiing and other sports.

The Board of Directors welcomes Petr and Ron to the Team Hardwood family, and looks forward to working with them to build on the team’s previous success.