Coach Sonny Wolfe is a retired Canadian university head football coach. Even though Coach Wolfe is retired, he still coaches high school football and referees basketball. Today he talks about character in a career that faces adversity on every level.
Contact Info
Sonny’s Profile
linkedin.com/in/sonny-wolfe-7b7a7213
Email
[email protected]
http://acadiahof.ca/sonny-wolfe/#:~:t...).
"Most people spend their lives trying to find a career that is satisfying and fulfilling. For Sonny Wolfe, his decision early in life to coach football would never waver, and over the course of a 40-year career he mentored many young men in a sport they loved and guided them to even greater things after graduation.
A native of Montreal, Sonny was raised in the Cote des Neiges district. He began his career in 1968 as a defensive line coach with the NDG Maple Leafs, followed by three seasons as a defensive coach at Sir George Williams University (1969-71) and four years as a defensive coordinator at Vanier College (1972-75). He played briefly with the McGill Redmen, and graduated from McGill with a degree in physical education in 1976. He then served as a full-time assistant coach and recruiter at McGill for eight seasons under Charlie Baillie, from 1976 to 1983.
A coach that would never be outworked by another at a rival school, Sonny instilled in his assistants a work ethic that would lead to their success. When asked who he considered a mentor in his early years,Sonny referred to his relationship with Baillie.
Sonny Wolfe completed his 24th and final season as a CIS head football coach in 2011 after five years at McGill, capping a 19-year career at Acadia during which he and his wife Denise became an integral part of the local community. He won three AUS championships at Acadia – in 1984, 1995, 1998 – and his 24 seasons as a head coach ties him with the legendary Gino Fracas for the seventh highest career total in CIS football history. He has a career record of 83-94 in CIS regular-season competition and developed more than 20 players who went on to pro football careers in the CFL.
Acadia’s Director of Athletics, Kevin Dickie, was a colleague of Sonny’s from 1997-2000 when Dickie was head coach of the Hockey Axemen. “As both the Director of Athletics and a good friend of Sonny Wolfe’s, I am extremely pleased that he has been inducted into our Sports Hall of Fame,” Dickie said. “I’m not sure there is anyone in the history of Acadia Athletics who has left their mark on a campus in a way that Sonny did over 19 years. It goes way beyond wins and losses; it’s the impact he had on young people and the coaches in other sports who worked alongside him. More than anything, Sonny is a tremendous person, and we are pleased to honour him.”
Following his retirement from CIS football, Wolfe was honoured by Canadian Inter-university Sport in June 2013. He received the Jean-Marie De Koninck Coaching Excellence Award, presented since 2007 to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to university sport as demonstrated by long-term commitment and leadership as a coach at the local, provincial, national and/or international levels.
Hardly surprising, retirement isn’t really part of Sonny’s plan. His passion for shaping the futures of young people today has taken him back to high school, where he now coaches a team in Montreal. The Acadia Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct, in the builder category, an outstanding coach and valued mentor to countless student-athletes, Sonny Wolfe."
Experience (LinkedIn, 2020)
College de Montreal
Offensive Coordinator
College de Montreal
Dates Employed: Mar 2013 – Present
Employment Duration 7 yrs 9 mos
MMBRA
Basketball Referee
Dates Employed: Oct 2011 – Present
Employment Duration 9 yrs 2 mos
McGill Univ
Head Coach
Dates Employed: Apr 2007 – Apr 2011
Employment Duration 4 yrs 1 mo
Université de Montréal
Football Coach
Dates Employed Jan 2004 – Jan 2006
Employment Duration 2 yrs 1 mo
St FX Univ
Offensive Coordinator
Dates Employed Jun 2003 – Dec 2003
Employment Duration 7 mos
Antigonish NS
Acadia University
Head Football Coach
Dates Employed: May 1984 – Jun 2002
Employment Duration 18 yrs 2 mos
Wolfville N.S.
McGill University
Coach
Dates Employed Jan 1976 – Apr 1984
Employment Duration 8 yrs 4 mos
Montreal
Defensive Coordinator
Montreal Concordes
Guest Coach
Dates Employed 1982
Employment Duration: less than a year
Vanier College
Defensive Coordinator
Dates Employed Jul 1972 – Nov 1975
Employment Duration 3 yrs 5 mos
Defensive Coordinator
Sir George Williams University Univ.
Total Duration 2 yrs
Asst FB Coach
Dates Employed 1969 – 1971
Employment Duration 2 yrs
Title: Asst FB Coach
Dates Employed1969 – 1971
Employment Duration2 yrs (LinkedIn, 2020)