The Panther Online

10/16/2016  By Breanna Greenup   

Everybody has that one person they’d call when in trouble – in many cases, it’s a best friend or a sibling. Not many would say that about their coach, like co-captain of the club hockey team Heikki Veharanta does.

“He’s the first person I would call if I went to jail,” said Veharanta, a senior left wing.

Sam Uisprapassorn, an ‘05 public relations and advertising major, played hockey most of his life and spent some time on the ice at Chapman, he now coaches the men’s club hockey team. Co-captain center Tyler Kring said that Uisprapassorn has improved the program since he played for the hockey team.

“Sam always puts the team first,” Kring said. “His best trait as a coach is that he really gets to know each player on a personal level, making it easier for him to connect with each player and feel for us when we are having a bad practice or game.”

Junior center Easton Miller said that Uisprapassorn is the “lifeline” to the team.

“He does things like bringing home the jerseys and water bottles every day — washing them, takes care of them, and he’s on time every single day,” Miller said. “Without someone like him, the team falls apart immediately.”

“The team started out as just a few guys about seven years ago and has turned into a full lineup with tons of talent, more and more each year,” Kring said. “Our California Collegiate Hockey League championship last year says a lot about what Sam has done to grow the program and how hard he has worked throughout.”

Uisprapassorn takes a wholesome coaching approach, an attribute that Veharanta said the team appreciates in practice and during games.

“One thing that stands out about Sam as a coach is that he takes feedback better than any coach I’ve ever seen,” Veharanta said. “He really wants to know how we feel about everything as far as lines, games and how practices are being run. He really cares about how we feel about it and that’s not something I see with a lot of other coaches.”

In addition to his commitment to the Chapman team and a day job, Uisprapassorn also coaches the Colombian national team.

“That’s the ultimate coaching job, I get to coach my alma mater and I get to be the national coach for a country that means so much to me because it is a part of my heritage,” Uisprapassorn said. “My mom is Colombian, so not a lot of people know that. Not a lot of people realize that we play hockey down there. We’ve beaten Mexico the last two years in the pan-american tournament. Mexico is ranked 33d in the world and it says a lot for them and a lot for us.

Uisprapassorn, who has a family and a career outside of Chapman, said that coaching hockey is more than just a job for him.

“This isn’t a career for me, it’s a passion,” Uisprapassorn said. “It’s a vocation. It’s also me giving back to Chapman because Chapman set me up really well to succeed in a career. And those are things I want to pass on to all of our players.”

Chapman hockey took a 7-1 win at the home game this Saturday.

“The immediate goal for this year is to see all of our players succeed on and off the ice. And to have a winning record, which I think this year is not a far-fetched reality,” Uisprapassorn said.