Football Canada mourns the loss of three builders
MIRONOWICZ, SEMOTIUK, AND HAYLOR REMEMBERED FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SPORT
OTTAWA – The football community in Canada is grieving the loss of Robert “Bob” Mironowicz, Darwin Semotiuk, and Larry Haylor and remembering their many contributions to building and growing the sport in this country. All three men passed away last week.
Mironowicz was a foundational builder of the amateur game in Quebec and Canada. He was the President of Football Quebec and had served on its board of directors for more than 30 years. He was president for the last seven years.
“Over three decades, Bob was a leader in a province that had exponential growth in the sport, said Jim Mullin, the president of Football Canada. “I have lost a fighter for football, and I have lost a friend.”
He was involved in the Sun Youth organization in Montreal for 54 years and served as its president since 2014. Mironowicz was a member of the board of directors of Football Canada from 2014-2017 and was chair of the Football Canada Contact Working Committee. He also served as chair of the 2019 Western Under-16 Challenge in Kamloops, B.C. His devotion to football continued right up to his passing, going so far as to attend last month’s Football Canada semi-annual general meeting virtually from the hospital.
“His agenda as a life-long volunteer was to ensure the best possible experience for youth to play the game, no matter their background. There’s also generations of coaches who are active in the game in Quebec thanks to his works.” Mullin said.
Semotiuk had a long career as a professor, football coach, and administrator for what is now called Western University in London, Ontario. He was the head coach of the Mustangs from 1975-1984 with a record of 71-23-1. He won the Vanier Cup in 1976 and 1977 and won the Tindall Award for coach of the year in Canadian university football in 1976. He served as athletic director from 1982 to 2001. He also served as a professor in the school’s Faculty of Physical Education from 1974 until his retirement in 2014. He was the head coach of the first-ever Team Canada for the 1978 Can-Am Bowl. The game featured Canadian university all-stars playing against their NCAA Division One counterparts. He was also instrumental in setting up the first coaching manuals, which formed the basis for the Football National Coaching Certification Program currently in use.
Haylor was Semotiuk’s successor as head coach at Western, serving from 1987 to 2006. He retired as the winningest coach in Canadian university sports history, with a record of 178-43-4, until Saskatchewan’s Brian Towriss surpassed the mark in 2011. He won two National Championships in 1989 and 1994. Haylor was voted the winner of the Tindall Award for coach of the year in 1990 and 1998. He was also deeply involved in developing training for coaches in Canada. In addition, he served as Head Coach for Team Canada’s Senior Men’s team in 2011 at the IFAF Football Championships in Austria, where he led the Canadians to a 3-1 record and a silver medal at the event.
Football Canada thanks all three for their contributions to football in Canada and sends its deepest condolences to their families, colleagues, and friends.
