KEARNS, Utah — Tim Odell moved to Utah from Minnesota in 2008, and his family brought the hockey culture with them when they came to the Mountain West Region. He coached his sons at a youth level, and eventually they started playing for the Wasatch Renegades, which Odell is now in his third year managing.
And that’s where this month’s Utah Hockey Heroes takes us, as players and other coaches describe why Odell, who is the President of the Renegades, is a pillar to not just the organization, but also to the growth and sustainability of youth hockey in Utah.
“Being back, just seeing what he’s done for me and my coaching career,” Garrett Meltcalf, the assistant hockey director, explained. “To be able to come here to help the kids, his son included, but all different age levels. The sacrifices him and his wife and their family, time, financial commitments. It’s been unbelievable to see.”
“I was not super happy with hockey in Utah; I ended up leaving for two years, and I coached in the Midwest,” sports performance and skating coach Johnathan Garcia said. “I wasn’t planning on working with hockey when I moved back. There was an athlete. It was an athlete that was playing for this organization that I coached before I left, and he was like, 'You have to meet our new director; he’s from Minnesota; you have to meet our new owners.' I was kind of hesitant at first, and then as soon as I had my first with Lee and the Odells, it meant so much to me because I can take everything that I put and learned from Wisconsin and Minnesota and bring it back to Utah.”
For Odell, the mission has always been simple: give back to the game that's given so much to his family.
“I’ve known a lot of these kids for quite some time,” he explained. “I just enjoy being around the game because the game has given me so much that my wife and I are giving back to the game, to the kids. This organization is for the kids. It’s to get them to advance onto their dreams.”
“Tim, he’s been a coach since I was very young,” Joshua Kelley, who has grown up playing for the organization, said. “I didn’t know he was going to help me in the future when I’m now 18 years old. He’s put an impact on my life and my hockey career now.”
Years later, seeing those kids grow into young adults—and hearing their gratitude—is what makes it all worthwhile.
“I had a couple players that I coached in mites that came up to me before a state tournament game; they’re 18-year-olds, and said, ‘Thank you for everything you do,’ and that meant a lot to me,” Odell said.
