George Bolender

Personable and driven with natural aptitude for leadership and communication. Possesses solid understanding of team dynamics and game strategies, coupled with strong organizational and mentoring skills. Committed to fostering positive environment and helping students achieve both their athletic and personal goals.

Energetically contributed to the Webster Youth Hockey Association as a Student Assistant Coach, enhancing player development and team motivation through innovative coaching techniques and game strategy. Skilled in fostering athlete engagement and promoting sportsmanship, my adaptability and relationship-building prowess led to a noticeable improvement in team cohesion and gameplay performance. Positive and upbeat professional enthusiastic about helping players excel.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation for George Bolender. George volunteered his time in my classroom during the 2023-2024 school year. George impressed me with how he interacted with the students in my room and the positive influence that had.

During recess, George asked if he could play football with my class. At first I had reservations with a senior playing football with kids in grades 5 & 6. I watched to see how things went and was impressed at how well he carried himself. I thought this was a one time thing at the start of the school year but I started to notice quickly that he would be outside the same time that we were. He quickly asserted himself into the game and started developing relationships with my students. I was impressed with his caring and thoughtful nature with the kids. He became a role model and a mentor for some of my students.

I didn't realize the impact that he had on my students until he wasn't able to come out for a few weeks. Kids started asking about George and where he was. I asked why and was impressed with how highly they spoke of him as a person. He truly developed bonds with my students. It is that leadership and bonds that make George a special person.

I wholeheartedly recommend George for any job, internship or academic program that he is applying to. His ability to lead by example, create and foster relationships will people that will make him an asset to a business or a classroom. I am confident that George will continue to inspire and positively impact those around them.

Since

David Moore

Intermediate Teacher

QUEST Elementary School

585-703-8981

Colin Montesano Unsung Hero Award:

Congratulations on George be chosen as this year Colin Montesano Unsung Hero Award. George will be recognized at the Tyler Putnam Awards dinner on April 2 at the Webster Golf Club.

WYHA nominated George along with a write up why he was deserving.

George was among several nominees from various hockey programs in the area and was chosen solely by the Montesano family.

Grant Lintala award Nominations:

“I have had the pleasure of coaching George for the last two seasons. When he came to our team last season from another organization I could barely get him to speak - he was so quiet that I couldn’t even get him to introduce himself to the other players on the team at our pre-season get together. As the season went on and he got more comfortable with everyone we began to see just how special a teammate he was. By the end of last season that could kid that wouldn’t say a word at our first practice was the most talkative player in the locker room and had developed strong friendships with many of our players and decided to come back to WYHA again this year.

At the start of this season George’s positive attitude, locker room presence, infectious smile, and sense of humor helped to quickly bond our team together resulting in a very strong start to our season. About half way through this season George’s family moved about 45 minutes away from our rink resulting in him also having to switch middle schools. Despite this upheaval in his personal life, George’s dedication to our hockey team and positive attitude never changed. He makes that 45 minute drive with his parents multiple times per week and still has that same smile on his face every time he’s at the rink.

On the ice his sportsmanship and dedication are second to none. This season I have had two different coaches from opposing teams contact me about George after our games both for the sportsmanship he showed players on their teams. One of those situations he had collided with a player on the other team who stayed on the ice after George got up. Before skating back into the play George went over to the kid and bent over to check and make sure he was ok despite there not being a whistle. He skates hard every shift, pays attention in practice, makes his teammates better on and off the ice with his positive attitude and hard work, and makes it fun for everyone to be at the rink. I am extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to coach him this last two years and very proud to nominate him for the Grant Lintala award as I can’t think of a better candidate.”

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“As a coach it is always a difficult decision to nominate the same player for an award multiple years in a row as it is natural to want to recognize others that play for you but in this particular instance our nominee has again more than proven himself deserving of this award. George Bolender embodies all of the characteristics that a Lintala nominee must have. He is a positive force, a passionate player and a good teammate on and off the ice. George joined Webster Youth Hockey 3 years ago from another program not knowing a single person in our organization. Since that time he has become an integral part of the WYHA family and was named one of our team captains this season. At the end of last season George decided that he wanted to try to play goalie despite having never playing it before. He began working on this over the summer and put in a ton of work and focus in practice so that he would be ready to be our goalie at the start of the season. The team recognized his effort and improvement and rallied behind him to start our season out strong. About two months into the season George broke his collarbone and was told he would be out for the next 10 weeks. Despite this news he continued to attend all of our games including games as far as Binghamton and a tournament in Cicero. He supported all the goalies that subbed for him and was a huge influence on our bench cheering the team on. Once he was allowed back on the ice for practices his focus and effort were second to none so that he would be ready for when he was allowed to return to full action in games. He returned to action in mid February and the team has rallied around him once again.

George’s passion for hockey is infectious, his positive attitude and hard work are an inspiration to his teammates, and I am extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to coach him these last three years. I am proud to nominate him for the Grant Lintala award for the second year in a row and I can’t think of a better candidate.”