Sometimes the most valuable pieces of a team are the ones working hard behind the scenes.
Brock Richardson has been tirelessly volunteering with the Jr. A and McLean & Dickey Jr. C Orillia Terriers for almost three decades. He’s had several different roles with the team including equipment manager and online score-keeper.
Prior to working with the team, Richardson attended Terriers’ games as a fan and would frequently chat with then-statistician and equipment manager Ed Babin.
“One night he said he can’t do it by himself all of the time,” Richardson recalled. “I thought well I already come to all of the games; I wouldn’t mind helping out.”
Richardson, a former Huronia Regional Centre counsellor of 37 years, has always had a deep passion for hockey.
"I've always enjoyed being around hockey," he said. "My dad was a really good hockey player and so was my uncle, Murray Richardson."
Richardson, 71, played hockey for a year or two as a child but gave up the sport to focus on where he shined brightest: on the mound of a ball diamond.
The talented left-handed pitcher was a part of Orillia's first provincial championship team in 1966. He went on to become one of the top players in the South Simcoe Baseball League where he helped the Orillia Juniors and Orillia Majors win multiple titles.
"The guys on those teams were really close and we are all still friends today," he said. "I think that's why we won so much."
Richardson, a Halliburton native, says being around the Terriers reminds him of the "tight-knit" group that he played baseball with for nearly three decades.
"It's fun watching the kids grow together," he said. "They get along so well."
While serving as equipment manager for the Jr. A Terriers, Richardson would be at every home game and also travel with the team for road games.
"One time the bus broke down in a snowstorm coming home from Durham," he explained. "It was minus 28 degrees, and it took three hours for the bus company to come pick us up. I don't really miss that."
In 2010, the Jr. A Terriers folded, leaving a void in Richardson's life for three years.
"I missed it," he said. "I got involved with some other things, but the winters felt longer than they do now."
The Jr. C Terriers took to the ice in 2013 and, soon after, Richardson was approached by the team's president, Andrew McDonald, about doing online score-keeping for the team.
"This team here has excellent management, coaching staff, players, and volunteers," he said. "It's a big family and I enjoy being a part of it. They treat me good."
Richardson has never missed a game since joining the Jr. C team. He's committed to being at the rink for every home game.
"You could never keep him away," McDonald said. "When games get cancelled because of weather, he's usually disappointed."
McDonald says Richardson's dedication to the team is "second to none."
Richardson loves it when he runs into players from past teams. He says it brings a smile to his face when he sees that they are succeeding in their life after hockey.
"I talk to Daryl Bat and see David Wrigley every summer," he said. "We reminisce about some of the old stories. It's fun."
Richardson says the special bond and connection with the players and staff is what keeps him coming back to the rink each year.
Richardson says score-keeping for the Terriers doesn't feel like a job. He says he loves his role and working with his fellow penalty box colleagues. While Richardson scores the games on the Terriers website, Julianne Bouwhuis time keeps, and Jeff Sieger does the public announcing.
"It's a big-time team effort," he said. "I couldn't do it without them."
Richardson takes his score-keeping duties seriously and he says it takes a lot of attention to detail.
"What I put on the site is what goes into the league," he explained. "We have to make sure it's right and there are no misprints, which is why we always double check with the referees."
A part of Richardson's role is to determine the three stars from each home game which he does after consulting with Bouwhuis and Sieger.
"That's a lot of fun," Richardson said. "I really like doing that."
In their Jr. A days, the Terriers won the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League in 1994 and celebrated three division championships during Richardson's time with the team.
"We've never won the whole thing," he said.
He hopes the Jr. C squad is one day able to reach the top of the heap.
"We've come close but hopefully one of these years we will break through. It would be really great for Orillia."
McDonald says Richardson is an "irreplaceable" component of the team.
"He does all of our live stats," he said. "Without him, we couldn't play."
McDonald says Richardson puts a lot of time and effort into the team away from their Rotary Place home in west Orillia. He even takes to other rinks in the region to scout up-and-coming players.
"Brock is a big part of the team," McDonald said. "It means a lot to all of the players that they can count on Brock every single time. He's a fixture of the team."
