Boxer Ryan Scheer serves as equipment manager
WHITE ROCK – For a new equipment manager, the Whalers have turned to the sweet science.
Ryan Scheer (right) trains an amateur boxer. After his junior hockey career ended, Scheer took up boxing, as a fighter and a coach. (Photo submitted)
Ryan Scheer, an amateur boxer, will be the Pod’s lifeline for players at home and on the road.
Born in Toronto, he played hockey from the age of four to 23. He remembered that his on-ice career included a couple of chances at Junior ‘A’ – an opportunity that all Junior ‘B’ Whalers want to achieve.
“I’m so happy that this opportunity came. I love being at the rink,” Scheer said Sept. 24. “Coming from a hockey background, I’m an extremely competitive person.”
Unlike most boxers, Scheer got into the ring rather late – in his mid-twenties. In Ontario, he trained with pros and recalled that boxing legend George Chuvalo – the Canadian champion that Muhammad Ali called the “toughest he had ever fought” – would come by to watch.
Ryan Scheer, the equipment manager for the Whalers, tapes a player's stick prior to a home game in Centennial Arena. | Photo courtesy of Alistair Burns, White Rock Whalers
Now 37, Scheer moved to B.C. four years ago. He got back into boxing through coaching and training fighters in South Surrey.
His goals for this season with the Whalers include: “creating a good environment” for the players and learning how to sharpen their skates just right. He also learned how to sew – in case of torn gloves or pads.
Earlier this season, Whalers assistant coach Julian Feijo noted that the equipment manager’s role is quite crucial for a successful franchise. The manager “acts as the backbone to a hockey club.”
