During his first 12 months on the job Pierre Arsenault has faced new challenges, opportunities and some successes as athletic director at Mount Allison University.
One of his goals has been to make available services and opportunities to the greater community as he has found Sackville welcoming and friendly and he feels the university has the potential to do much more to bring town and gown closer together. Since coming here from the position of executive director of the New Brunswick Golf Association (NBGA), Arsenault, his wife Karen and their three young children have become a part of the community mosaic. They have built a beautiful new home and the children, especially Jack, have found many new friends.
‘Yes, we really love it here in Sackville,” he said during a recent discussion, “and I would like to think we will be here for a long time.”
Arsenault took over the position from Jack Drover, who had held the office for 18 years while working in the athletic department for a total of 35 years.
Perhaps the first positive move to incorporate the entire community of Sackville into campus activities has been the introduction of Zumba – a fairly high impact exercise done to dance music. Nearly 200 have signed up, with the majority being women, although Pierre believes more men will soon join when they realize the benefits.
Another move has been the appointment of a part time fitness coach who is expected to develop programs and services for campers and the greater Sackville community. This will mark the first coordinated approach, including a personal training program. And he says an ongoing goal will be to encourage local residents to turn out and support the teams. He is pleased that the entire staff will be returning for his second year and says they have all been respectful and have gone the extra mile during his transition.
The staff includes John Peters as pool director and coach of both the Mounties and Sackville swim clubs, Barry Cooper, coach of both men’s and women’s soccer teams, Kelly Jeffrey, football head coach, Bruce McMillan, men’s basketball coach, Al Hart, women’s basketball coach, Zack Ball, women’s hockey coach, Andrew Kennedy, volleyball coach, Janet Robinson, business director, Jill York, secretary and Sue Seaborn, sports information officer. Football, soccer, hockey and swimming teams compete in the AUS, while both basketball teams, and the volleyball and badminton teams perform in the second level of competition, ACAA.
Arsenault believes completion and adoption of the strategic plan for his department will instantly have an impact on the quality of varsity teams and broadening of the intramural and recreation programs. The plan is nearing completion and it’s expected a fundraising project will be initiated to enhance all programs. He notes that costs continue to rise, especially in maintaining varsity teams, and thus the reason for the drive for improvement. It is understood the cost to maintain a varsity hockey team in the Maritimes is in the half million dollar range.
He believes the varsity programs require a little beefing up but says it is important to remember “who we are and what to protect“. He thinks it is vital for teams to become viable entities and this will encourage young people to want to come to the Sackville university.
Asked about one aspect of his contract, the role of a fundraiser, Arsenault said efforts to develop a corporate support strategy will be launched when the strategic plan is finalized and provides guidelines for the future.
Unfortunately, the pool has been shut down as major improvements are taking place. He says it is unlikely to be reopened until late October, which not only will force the local teams to find alternative pools, but has also meant it can’t be used by the roughly 1,000 athletes in town for the international track meet in Moncton. The athletes are housed in campus dormitories. It has also been discovered that the pool, built in 1960, is a few inches longer than a standard Olympic Pool.
“We often found that times of tournament swimmers here were a little slower than usual,” says Peters. “Finally, time was taken to do an actual measurement and we discovered this defect. It is believed this may be remedied during he current construction period.
Arsenault says the five-year plan for the department is to see the entire basement area reconfigured, while the addition of a field house to the south side of the building is being contemplated. It was originally hoped to have an entirely new athletic centre built to replace the current one, which is 50 years old and badly in need of refreshment. However, the cost for such a project was considered beyond reason and it has been decided to renovate piecemeal over a period of time.
“Jack (Drover) has been supportive, helpful and respectful during my initiation,” he said, “and this is much appreciated. Also the experience of some of our staff has come into play on several occasions when help was needed.”
So, while many projects will be placed on hold until finalization of the strategic plan, Arsenault is seeking opportunities to improve opportunities for the student body, faculty and staff with an outreach program that should include all residents of this area. Zumba is just the start of what he envisions as an even closer relationship between Mount Allison and the people of Sackville.
