Shawn Camp has come full circle in his career as a hockey coach.

Back in 1990, Camp began his coaching career in his hometown as an assistant coach with the University of Ottawa Gee Gees.

Nineteen years later, Camp is still coaching, and after a couple of stops in the CJHL, QMJHL and OHL, he finds himself back in Ontario University Athletics where it all started.

“It’s been a great run and so much fun,” Camp said prior to a game earlier this month in the Nation’s Capital against the U of O and his long-time buddy, Gee Gees head coach, Dave Leger.

“Being around university kids is so energizing because they’re excited, driven and focused in becoming quality student/athletes.”

Camp will begin his third season as the head coach of the University of Guelph Gryphon after stints in the OHL with the Saginaw Spirit, Sarnia Sting and Guelph Storm where he guided the team to a league championship and 2004 Memorial Cup appearance.

Before his time in the OHL, Camp served as the GM and head coach of the Hawkesbury Hawks and won the Memorial Cup in 1997 with the Hull (Gatineau) Olympiques as an assistant coach to Claude Julien who now coaches the Boston Bruins.

In 1999, the Hawkesbury Hawks won the Central Junior Hockey League championship under Coach Camp, and Assistant coach Dave Leger, now head coach of the University of Ottawa men's team.

Camp is also a veteran of international hockey after winning a gold and silver medal as the bench boss of Canada’s U-18 team in 2005.

But since his arrival at the University of Guelph, Camp has been given a tremendous amount of credit for the resurgence of the men’s hockey program over the last year-and-a-half.

Last season, Camp led the Gryphons to a 12-13-0-3 record and third place finish in the Mid-West Division of the OUA.

It was a significant improvement from the 7-14-3-4 season in 2006/07.

After 23 games this year, Guelph sat in second place in their division, courtesy of a 9-12-2 record.

Even though the Gryphons haven’t participated in the playoffs since 2006, Camp feels that the program is going in the right direction and a trip to the post season is not too far away and could possibly happen this season.

“I came in and built on the good things that were already in place at the university,” Camp explained. “I’m attempting to take it another step. We have some great kids at the school that are very committed to becoming better players, they’re all excellent students. When new guys come to the program, they quickly understand that there’s a certain level of expectation and culture that we’re trying to establish in terms of being a good student/athlete. It’s a commitment. They have to be prepared to make some sacrifices in order to become better players and maintain a high average at school.”

One of the biggest adjustments for Camp after his time in the OHL was all the administrative duties that come with being a CIS hockey coach.

In the OHL, coaches instruct and teach; in the university ranks, they recruit players, balance budgets, make yearly plans and finalize schedules, not to mention having to deal with stressed out students around exam time.

“I’ve always believed that coaching at university is a great experience in terms of enhancing your administrative and managerial skills,” Camp said.

“The head coach is the judge, jury and executioner with your program because he’s responsible for every facet of its success. It’s a great opportunity for any coach coming to the CIS to really improve their managerial skills and that’s never a bad thing.”

By Mike Beasley