Garth currently resides in Elkhorn with his wife Kim, and has three children; Tyler, Jordan and Whitney. He began as a volunteer coach in 1980 and has since coached 45 different teams from Novice to AAA Midget over 29 hockey seasons. He has coached multiple teams in one season 12 times and also coached numerous female teams. In total, Garth has coached over an astonishing 2,000 minor hockey games over the years.It is amazing that he finds time to be an active official in the Elkhorn Minor system. Garth is truly a driving force for the development of hockey in Elkhorn.

On a regional level, Garth has been on the Executive of Yellowhead Minor Hockey for the past 20 years. He has been involved with the region’s development programs throughout this time, including the male and female Program of Excellence, Director’s Cup, Female Bantam Challenge and Regional Development Squads. His expertise is often counted upon to ensure Yellowhead’s development programs are run efficiently and he has been actively involved in player and coach evaluations. Garth has also been the coach of the Yellowhead Chiefs AAA Midget team for the past 5 seasons.

Garth’s contributions to the game at the branch level are also extremely impressive.He has run numerous Hockey Canada Skills Camps and Hockey Schools over the years. He is a past member and current Chair of Hockey Manitoba’s Player Development Committee, a position he has maintained for the past 12 years.

Garth is an instructor for the IP, Coach and Development 1 certification clinics and has served as Hockey Manitoba’s Master Course Conductor for the past 6 seasons.In addition, Garth has achieved his High Performance 2 certification and has been a presenter and group leader at Hockey Manitoba’s High Performance 1 seminars.

Garth has also been an active member of Hockey Manitoba’s Coach Mentorship program since its inception in 2000 and serves as an important resource for many coaches throughout the province. He has been involved in re-writing the Hockey Canada Skills Manuals and has attended numerous Hockey Canada meetings and seminars on behalf of Hockey Manitoba.

Finally, Garth has been an assistant coach for Team West U-17 twice, and is currently the head coach for Team West which will be competing at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg, MB in December 2010.

Garth Mitchell is the type of volunteer that no organization can do without. His involvement in the game and commitment to developing players and coaches is extraordinary, and he is respected by everyone, both as a hockey volunteer and person. His contributions locally, regionally, provincially and nationally are simply remarkable and Hockey Manitoba is proud to acknowledge him as the 2009 – 2010 Volunteer of the Year.