2023 Men’s U18 General Manager Announcement

Canada Ball Hockey is pleased to announce Norm Spitzer as General Manager for the U18 Men’s team competing at the 2023 ISBHF World Junior Championships July 3-6 in Liberec, Czech Republic.

Norm has an extensive background in sports leadership positions beginning in the mid 1970’s coaching minor baseball and basketball teams, he then moved on to coaching/managing ice hockey teams and serving on executives of various minor sports associations. His tenure includes 8 years on Mill Woods Hockey including 2 years as President, 5 years with South Side Athletic Club including 2 years as President and 5 years with SEERA including VP for 2 seasons. Mr. Spitzer was recognized at Edmonton City Council in 2014 for more than 35+ years of volunteer service in several associations in Edmonton by Mayor Don Iveson and City Council.

Norm has also spent more than 25 years as a volunteer in Ball Hockey beginning with coaching/managing kid’s teams in the late 1990’s. Nationally Norm organized, coached and managed Junior teams competing first in the Western Canadian Championships in then U16 category 2002 and the Canadian Junior Championships U19 category in 2004. Through the years Norm’s teams have won 7 WCC championships, 3 Canadian Championships in addition to several Silver/Bronze medals.

Internationally Mr. Spitzer began scouting at the 2007 Canadian Junior Championships in Burnaby helping put together the JTC U16/U18 teams for the initial ISBHF World Junior U16/U18 World Championships in Zvolen, Slovakia. Norm then served as Head Coach of the U16 team in Zvolen leading the team to a perfect 6 and 0 record winning the Gold Medal as World Champions. In 2012 Norm served as AGM looking after the JTC U18 team in Strackonice Czech Republic with the team also going 6 and 0 and winning the World Championships. In 2014 at the ISBHF World Junior Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia Norm was the General Manager of the U16 team which won the Silver Medal. In 2016 Mr. Spitzer took on the role as General Manager for all 3 Junior Teams (U16, U18 and U20) for the ISBHF World Junior Championships in Sheffield England winning Gold at both U16/U18 (World Champions) and Silver in U20. He then was in charge as General Manager of the JTC U18/U20 teams in 2018 at the ISBHF World Championships in St John’s Newfoundland with the U18 taking Gold and the U20’s Silver. Norm once again then served as GM of the U18/U20 teams for the 2020 ISBHF World Championships in Switzerland but unfortunately they were initially postponed 1 year and then eventually canceled a victim of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Norm will be serving as GM for the JTC U18 team at the 2023 ISBHF World Junior Championships in Liberec and is looking forward to working with the players and staff as we once again compete for World Championship Gold.