Leamington Flyers Head Coach Tony Piroski says Chatham-Kent hockey legend George Aitken will be sorely missed. Aitken died on Tuesday at London's Victoria Hospital. He was 84 years old.
Piroski says playing for Aitken in junior pushed him into coaching.
"Other than my direct family, he probably had as much influence on my sports life and the way you treat kids, the way you coach and the way you do things of anybody," says Piroski. "He could be hard on the outside when he had to be as a coach, but yet he had a soft spot in there for his players. He would go the extra mile to make sure they were doing the right thing outside of the arena."
Piroski had a close bond and friendship with his former coach.
"You can't find two better people," says Piroski. "Ten years after I left playing in Chatham, I was married to my wife to this day, but he was one of the first ones on my list to invite, him and his wife Doreen."
Aitken was inducted into the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and was an inaugural inductee into the Face of the Maroons Wall of Fame last fall. He was a member of the Chatham Maroons' 1960 Allan Cup winning team and was also a long-time coach of the Junior Maroons.
Friends are being received at McKinlay Funeral Home at 459 St. Clair St. in Chatham from 7pm to 9pm on Thursday. Visitation continues on Friday.
(From L to R) Doreen and George Aitken, Mary Leyte and her two sons Chris and Jim. (Photo by Mike James)