A combination of the global pandemic, Olympic postponement and a job opening in his native Denmark has prompted Kenneth Heiner-Moller to step down as Canada women’s soccer coach.
Heiner-Moller, who will leave at the end of August, is returning to the Danish Football Association as head of coach education.
He took over as Canada head coach in January 2018, succeeding John Herdman who left the women’s team to take over the Canadian men. He had served as Herdman’s assistant at the 2016 Rio Olympics, helping the Canadian women win bronze.
The 49-year-old Heiner-Moller leaves with a record of 20-10-5 as head coach and the Canadian women ranked eighth in the world. They were fifth when he took over, having risen up the rankings in the wake of the Rio medal.
“It’s beyond words how hard how difficult the decision is,” Heiner-Moller said Wednesday. “Obviously this wasn’t the plan. The plan was going to the Olympics, have that gold medal around our necks and then say ‘You know what, congratulations team, I’m off to the next task.’
“Then this COVID thing hit.”
The Olympics were postponed until next year. Meanwhile back in Denmark, the head of coaching education position opened up with incumbent Peter Rudbæk set to step down at the end of August.
“I’ve always said you cannot plan a career,” Heiner-Moller said. “But I knew that there was an opportunity to (take) kind of a different path in my career after the Olympics. But it was always ‘After the Olympics, after the Olympics.’
“And when all of a sudden I wasn’t capable of doing both, it was definitely something that shook the foundation underneath everything and then a decision needed to be made.”
Heiner-Moller called senior players on the Canadian team Wednesday morning to give them the news.
“It was a very very tough decision, but also very tough to give that message to them,” he said.
The Canadian Soccer Association says it has begun the search for a replacement to lead the Canadian women at the Olympics, which have been postponed to next year because of the global pandemic.
Canada Soccer president Steven Reed wished Heiner-Moller well.
“He is a highly-regarded coach who gained the respect of the Canadian soccer community in his time with our organization and we thank him for his genuine approach with both players and staff,” Reed said in a statement.
The transition from Herdman to Heiner-Moller was seamless given they had worked together. But it marked a distinct change in style.
The charismatic Herdman is a ball of motivational energy. Heiner-Moller is more laid-back, with an easy smile and calm demeanour covering a steely interior.
Under Heiner-Moller, Canada qualified for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France and the Tokyo Olympics. The women exited the World Cup disappointingly in the round-of-16 after a 1-0 loss to Sweden.
There were some off performances later in the year at tournaments in Asia and the team had a slow start to the Tournoi de France in March last time out.
Bit there was history earlier this year.
Captain Christine Sinclair became the world’s leading goal-scorer on Heiner-Moller’s watch, notching goals No. 184 and 185 to pass retired American Abby Wambach in an 11-0 win over an outmatched St. Kitts and Nevis on Jan. 29 at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in south Texas.
“Just being able to be at the pitch when she broke the record is something that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life,” he said.
Heiner-Moller says he leaves a Canadian team that is well prepared for the Olympics.
“It’s a young team and a hungry team as well,” he said. “Many of the players got their first pinnacle event at the (2019) World Cup and that’s always something to get out of the way. Now a second one is coming next summer.
“So I think the players are in a great state. I’m definitely not pushing any pressure on whoever is going to succeed me here but the players and the team are doing great.”
As for his successor, former Canadian international Rhian Wilkinson has worked her way up the ranks, coaching national youth sides and serving as an assistant coach with the senior side.
While the timing may not be perfect for her to take over given she only retired in early 2017, Wilkinson is widely respected and Canada Soccer has worked hard to bring former players into its coaching setup.
A midfielder and forward, Heiner-Moller turned pro when he was 17 and played in Denmark and abroad. He spent two seasons with Hungary’s Ferencvarosi, winning the league once and the Hungarian Cup twice.
He finished off his career in Denmark, retiring early after a serious leg injury. He was 33 when he started his coaching career on crutches, coaching an under-19 men’s teams before taking charge of the Brondby IF women’s squad.
After a year, he left coaching to pursue psychology studies before working in a sports school. Six months later, the Danish federation asked him to take over the national women’s team.
Heiner-Moller coached the Danish women from 2006 to 2013, taking them to the 2007 World Cup. His last match in charge was at Euro 2013 when the Danes lost in the semifinals via penalty shootout to a Norwegian team led by former Canada coach Even Pellerud.
After stepping down as coach, Heiner-Moller took a job with the Danish equivalent to Own The Podium, as a high-performance manager tasked with helping the country’s coaches get better.
It was an experience that inspired him, learning from coaches from other sports.
After Herdman became Canada coach, he asked Heiner-Moller to join his staff for the 2015 World Cup. The Dane declined, reluctant to leave his high-performance role.
But Herdman got a different answer when he asked again a year later. Heiner-Moller had done some TV commentary and could see the potential in the Canadian team.
He got a leave from his job to help Herdman at the Olympics and then, with the blessing of his wife and two kids, made the Canadian assistant coaching job permanent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2020.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
