Roy Leaves Baycats As The Franchise's 'Goat'

BARRIE - It is not every day that one gets to go out on top.

But for Angus Roy, that is exactly what he is doing. 

The now-former general and field manager of the Barrie Baycats, Roy officially resigned from his duties this week fresh off the heals of the franchise's sixth straight championship win this past September against the Kitchener Panthers.

For Roy, the decision comes down to family.

"It is a family decision," said Roy. "It just became time for my life to revolve around them and not the other way around."

Having been with the franchise for seventeen years, Roy said this was not an easy decision.

"I can’t even put into words how this franchise has impacted my personal life," said the man known as 'Goose.'  "The friendships and life long bonds that I have made through the Baycats have been incredible. 

"I am extremely fortunate to have the people that I have in my life and I don’t take them for granted for one second."

Roy joined the Baycats as a 22-year-old kid.

He leaves the organization as a married man with three kids.

That, he says, is what he's most proud of.

"I am most proud of the men that we have become," said Roy of him and his longtime teammates such as Brad Bissell, Ryan Spataro and Jeff Cowan. "We have grown from single guys with part-time jobs to husbands, fathers, and contributors to our community."

Roy said that he is at peace with his decision, but he said he will miss this franchise -- and everything that comes with it -- dearly.

"I am going to miss the guys, the bus therapy, getting called out for absolutely everything, 'B-man' and 'Desi' hitting in group one in the finals, 'Callie' on the bench in Kitchener, 'Millsy' screaming 'drive the ball' from the booth, getting morning after phone calls from Keck to break down the game and 'Keeper' almost ripping your arm off with his handshakes.  

"I am going to miss everything that makes us, us."

Roy's departure is a crushing blow to the franchise that he has helped build.

Team president David Mills says a search for his replacement will begin immediately.

"The Baycats Board of Directors will be meeting this week to create a search committee to entertain candidates," said Mills. "We would look to a manager and general manager who is familiar with the IBL, our organization, and our culture."

Needing to hire both a general and field manager, Mills said he is open to hiring one person to take on both duties or two different people to split the duties. 

"The Baycats will be open to a potential candidate accepting both the manager and general manager responsibilities or separating the two functions," said Mills.

"Typically, the roles are separated in most sports and only one other IBL team operates in this fashion.

"The organization is flexible in this regard."

The early expectation is that the franchise will look internally to hire their next general manager and field manager, but the team will search outside of the organization if need be.

For more information, follow the Baycats on Facebook and Twitter at @iblbaycats and on Instagram at @barriebaycats.

Photo: Brian Backland/Brian Backland Photography