SSHoF logoBrian Shalovelo

Builder (2022)

Softball/Hockey

Brian ShaloveloBrian Shalovelo is a man of principle.

Practise the basics, says Brian the softball coach.

Play by the rules, says Brian the hockey official.

That’s the law, says Brian the police officer.

Shalovelo coached softball for more than 40 years, was a hockey official for 31 and worked with the Saskatoon Police Service for 37. Those are fat stats. He’s more into quality than quantity.

He started coaching women’s softball when his sister’s team didn’t have a coach. The game has taken him to the Pacific and Atlantic coast in Canada and to the United States. A highlight is winning the Western Canadian bantam championship at Bob Van Impe Stadium in front of family and friends in 2007. He has a physical education degree from the University of Saskatchewan and went on to coach its inaugural collegiate team, winning two national titles, a silver and a bronze.

In addition to coaching softball, Shalovelo has served on committees and boards and been a volunteer at national and international events. Brian met his wife Cheryl on the diamond. He coached his daughter Mallory from squirt to senior women’s. Daughter Amanda played in the Raiders zone. Son Matthew tagged along for support.

Shalovelo started refereeing hockey when he was 10 to make a few extra bucks. He was 15 for his first game at the junior level, getting called into action 45 minutes before game time when an official didn’t show. He was an official in the SJHL, WHL and Canada West university until he was 40. He also officiated international games that featured a Canadian junior all-star team, did an NHL pre-season game between the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames and was on the ice for a game between the Flames and Team Canada. Later, he supervised and coached junior hockey officials.

In his career with the Saskatoon Police Service, he went from uniform patrol, to undercover to being the superintendent of detectives.

Shalovelo appreciated the value of sports throughout his working career. Sport is a metaphor for life, he said: Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.