On January 2, 2019 the Markham Waxers hockey community
suffered the loss of one of our hockey parents – Ari Sinisalo.
Ari’s son – Luke – has played for the Markham Waxers for a number of years at the house league and select levels. His daughter Kaitlyn is a Markham Waxer as well. For the two seasons prior to this year, we coached Luke on the Select team. This season, Luke decided to stay with his team from last year and not tryout for AE, but signed up with our team as an “Affiliate Player” so he attends some of our practices, and plays in some games if we have a player away.
The entire Sinisalo family has been a big part of our journey as a hockey coaches. Ari’s wife – Cheng – was our back up trainer and was a practice coach for the two seasons that we coached Luke. Ari was a permanent fixture in the rink, attending games and practices on a regular basis. Luke’s younger sister Kaitlyn is always at the rinks as well, came to our team parties, and was part of our “siblings” crew that hung out together.
When I think about all of my interactions with Ari over the last couple years, I keep thinking about the same things. That smiling face, that warm welcome when you see someone at the rinks, how much I enjoyed every conversation I had with him – whether it was a in depth discussion or a quick hello. And as a coach, I keep thinking about the kind of hockey parent Ari was. He was such a great hockey parent.
I had lots of chats after the games with Ari. No matter what we talked about in terms of debriefing the game, chatting about how it went – the conversation always ended with him saying something like “They kids worked hard” or “They’re definitely getting better” or “They did a good job out there today”. He was always positive and always supported the team, the coaches, and all the kids.
Ari was that person you saw in the rink that you knew would always greet you with a smile, kind words, and pleasant conversation. He was friends with everyone and knew all the other hockey parents. When Ari was around, there was always a “feel good” feeling that came over me as a coach and as a hockey parent myself. And you could see the impact on his kids. Ari loved watching his kids on the ice – at practice, at games – he tried to get out to everything he could come to. It was clearly one of his life joys just to be there at support Luke and Kaitlyn.
Luke is that player that walks into the rink with a smile, and walks out of the dressing room with a smile – every time. If that’s your kid, you’re doing something right. If you’re that person that puts a smile on the face of the people around you whenever you see them, you’re doing something right in life. Luke and Ari share that same bright smile, that lights up a room when you see it.
Ari was also a huge supporter of his wife’s role in the hockey community. Cheng was a big part of our coaching staff for the first two years that I coached. She’s also been involved with her daughter’s team over the years. She’s been a coach on the bench, a trainer, a back-up coach and back-up trainer, a practice coach – and she’s a hockey player herself. And I think Ari loved that and loved supporting his wife being at the forefront of the hockey community.
Ari was a wonderful person and the loss to the hockey community (and soccer community, and any other sport his kids played for that matter) is one that will be felt in the rinks and at the soccer fields for a long time. To Cheng, Luke and Kaitlyn – we are so grateful to have known your Dad. We are so grateful that Luke and Kaitlyn choose to play hockey and that through that decision, we all had an opportunity to get to know Ari and to have him in our lives.
We’ll miss that smiling face, that good nature, that kindness – that person we all looked forward to seeing when we head to the games and practices. RIP Ari Sinisalo. You were a good man. We’re all better off for having known you.
