Published in the Telegraph-Journal April, 2009
   

"One of the guys on the executive (Pat O'Brien), I coached him when I was 17 and he was 13."

The three husband-and-wife teams will be inducted into the Lifetime Service Club April 18 at the Courtenay Bay Inn.

Ogden started coaching the Lancaster Ti-Cats peewee team in the mid 1970s and has been involved in the sport since, either as a coach or administrator.

He's also coached peewee, bantam and high school in Saint John, Kennebecasis Valley and Lancaster and helped organize everything from international trips to taking tickets at high school games.

"I had played for six or seven years but I had no idea about coaching," he said of his earliest steps with the whistle and chalkboard.

"I was asked to go over and handle a few practices and no adults showed up. It was baptism by fire."

He says making good on decisions in the boardroom or kitchen tables is critical to development in the sport, which enjoyed a 35 percent increase in registration in 2008.

"Anybody can talk about doing things but to me, true leadership is taking action," Ogden said. "In teaching or coaching, the kids know who cares and they know who spends the time with them."

This year's winners are the first in the category from Saint John since 2006, when Kevin and Elizabeth Clifford along with Rusty and Gisele Kirkpatrick were both recognized.

They join a long list of some of the sports most dedicated coaches, officials and administrators.

That includes Larry and Karen Harlow, Fran and Mary Hughes, Mike and Judy Upward and Phil and Joan McGarvey of Saint John.

"They are all do-ers and one thing you realize is that it is the do-ers who make the world go around," Ogden said.

Wilson and Murphy both started coaching in the mid-1980s with the Lancaster minor program and have stayed since.

Both men credit the influence of Mike and Judy Upward for playing large roles in their involvement.

"My wedding was booked around football," said Wilson, whose son Michael is named after Mike Upward. "Mike Upward and I were on the host committee for the 1988 AGM for Football Canada, which moved around in those days. It was in June and my wedding was in July. My wife jokes about it that she should have figured it out where she was on the priority list."

Wilson has a self-described passion for organization and process and it has led him to a number of roles in the provincial association. He was the technical director for Football New Brunswick, president of the Fundy Minor Football association, active in officiating as well as a coach at Harbour View High, Lancaster peewee and junior girls programs.

He also earned his certification to become a course conductor for coaches.

"I have sort have touched on it from every different angle," Wilson said. "I just like doing different things. I like to be involved and I get a lot out of it. It really is a lot of fun."

One of the reasons all the winners say they have enjoyed their experience is the other volunteers in similar position.

In face, Wilson and Murphy started at the same time in football coaching and administration - with the same team.

"I went because Arliss asked me for some help," Murphy joked of those early days in the mid 1980s with bantam teams in Lancaster.

Murphy's resume is as impressive as Wilson's and Ogden's, with duty at the community, provincial and national levels in a variety of roles.

They range from coaching, administration, officiating and other areas.

For example, he is a member of Football New Brunswick executive as its director of non-contact programs, sits on a working committee for Football Canada and is the equipment manager for Fundy Minor Football, a major task each year for the local association.

"It's the kids," he says of his motivation. "Football helps to keep them involved in sports in general. Hopefully, it give them some life lessons and as long as it puts a smile on their face."

Each of the volunteers will be inducted with their wives during the ceremony.

"Behind every good man is a better woman," Murphy said. "It is very nice that (FNB) does that. They are the ones who put up with all the time away."