Wynyard’s Trevor Otsig was recently awarded the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s highest honor, the Merit Award, at the SHSAA Annual General Meeting. This award is given by the SHSAA to honor those who have provided outstanding leadership and service and the promotion of high school athletics within their school athletic district and province as a whole.

Trevor Otsig was born and raised and attended school in Leroy, SK. Trevor started his teaching career in 1998 at Three Lakes School in Middle Lake. He then spent the 1999-2000 school year in Hudson Bay where he coached football, volleyball, and badminton and was a staff representative on the SADD group.

The fall of 2000 saw Trevor head back to Three Lakes School as the Phys Ed and History teacher, as well as the school’s athletic director. It was here that Trevor set out to build a respected athletics program. Trevor coached cross country, junior and senior girls soccer, junior and senior girls basketball, and track & field. At times, Trevor also coached senior boys basketball, badminton, and volleyball.

By the 2006-2007 school year, Trevor’s hard work and dedication started to pay dividends. From 2006-2019, Trevor’s teams had an amazing number of successes. His cross-country teams won six provincial gold, one provincial silver, and three provincial bronze medals in the team category. His girls soccer teams won five gold, three silver, and two bronze medals at the provincial level. His girls basketball teams won six provincial gold medals, five silver, and one bronze medal. And his track & field athletes won twenty-five individual and relay medals as well as a team bronze.

Trevor’s soccer and basketball teams were also awarded three sportsmanship awards – a testament to his strong belief that it is very possible to display great sportsmanship while having team success.

In 2017, Trevor took over as principal of Three Lakes School and in 2020 he landed the principal job at Wynyard Composite High School where he is presently employed and where his teams have been able to continue their winning ways. Since 2021, Trevor’s teams have won two basketball gold and one silver medal, and one provincial silver and one bronze in the cross-country team event. His Wynyard girls basketball team also won a sportsmanship award.

Trevor has been an active official in both soccer and basketball at the school level. He has encouraged young students to get into officiating, including two of his daughters, and many of these are still officiating basketball today. Trevor has also been a very active member with the Horizon Central Athletic Association. He has been a member of the executive as a quadrant rep for two years as well as a voting delegate and observer at the SHSAA AGM for over 15 years. He takes on leadership roles at pre-district and district track & field and cross-country meets. Trevor has been a member of the SHSAA basketball Sport Advisory Group, and he is currently a member of the SHSAA cross-country Sport Advisory Group. He has also been a very active member of the community, sitting on town council, being an active member of service groups, and coaching some community based sports. Trevor was also the driving force behind a major fundraising campaign that resulted in the installation of a wooden suspended floor in the gym at Three Lakes School for the benefit of the students and the community. He was always working hard to maintain a positive connection between the school and community.

Trevor has always stepped up to take on hosting duties. He hosted Provincial Soccer on many occasions as well as Hoopla in 2022 and Provincial Cross-Country in 2011. Trevor has also hosted an annual senior girls’ basketball tourney in Middle Lake and Wynyard for his entire coaching career. Often, he has hosted two and sometimes three tournaments in one year.

Trevor takes little credit for his successes. He is always the first person to give the credit to student-athletes, parents, staff, supporters, and community. Trevor has also been incredibly proud to have coached his three daughters in cross-country, soccer, basketball, and track & field as they have shared many successes and experiences together. Trevor’ wife Lesley has also been right there with Trevor and his daughters every step of the way.

Trevor has always promoted and continues to promote the core values of the HCAA and SHSAA through his work coaching student-athletes, providing opportunities for students while instilling characteristics into the students he works with to be successful in their adult lives. His students buy into what he believes as direct result of his compassion for his students. Trevor truly wants to make a positive difference in the lives of the student-athletes he works with.

- content provided by Horizon Central Athletic Association