Stéphane Durocher, the general director of Maison des Jeunes du Pontiac and resident of Mansfield-et-Pontefract, has been granted the Dollard-Morin Sports and Recreation Volunteer Support Award this past month.

The annual award was established in 1992 and, according to the government of Quebec’s education website, recognizes individuals who “generously volunteer their time and dedicate their talents to the development of leisure and sport as well as to the well-being of the population” in the province.

Durocher became the general director of the non-profit organization in 2012. After his working hours, he volunteers for soccer and softball leagues.

“I like youths, that is the reason I came here to Maison des Jeunes,” he said. “It’s very important to me to offer those activities for the kids in the Pontiac. It’s nice to see the kids have access to good quality activities [that are] well structured.”

Maison des Jeunes runs the Pontiac Youth Softball League and the Pontiac Soccer Association, the latter being established by Durocher some 12 years ago.

“We now have around 250 players that play every year for the soccer league, and for the softball league, we reached 400 players,” said Durocher.

Having lived around the Fort Coulonge and Mansfield area his whole life, Durocher played ice hockey, ball hockey and soccer growing up.

He only left the are for his studies between 1989 and 1994, going to Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue, in Rouyn-Noranda, where he played AA soccer for the college.

Durocher started coaching hockey teams in Fort-Coulonge and Shawville some 20 years ago, with his son being part of the roster. Currently, he is the coach of the Comets Midget team.

Upon finishing his college program in 1994, Durocher became the assistant director at Patro, in Mansfield, for 16 years.

In 2010, he moved on to work for the Pontiac MRC as the Sports and Leisure coordinator before landing the position he holds today.

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