SHSAA 2025 Merit Award winner has ties to Wilkie

WILKIE — The Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association has announced this year’s Merit Award winner as Jud Heilman, a former resident of Wilkie.

Heilman, who claims he wasn’t always the best student during his high school years, told SaskToday he credits his high school principal, Ray Johnson, for the motivation.

“I had never really thought about being a teacher until Mr. Johnson suggested it.”

Thirty years ago, Heilman began his teaching career, working in high schools in Perdue, North Battleford, Delisle, Evan Hardy Collegiate and Walter Murray Collegiate in Saskatoon.

During his 11-year tenure at Delisle Composite, Heilman was instrumental in establishing the football program that continues to dominate. As a coach for the Delisle Rebels, Heilman oversaw the team claim many league championship titles and two provincial titles.

In 2019, Heilman transitioned from the classroom to an office, joining the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate (SSSAD). While there, he worked with the athletics departments in 16 high schools within Saskatoon and had the opportunity to work with all school divisions in the province.

Heilman’s nomination for this award came from his friends and colleagues at the SSSAD.

“I got to work with him on SSSAD for the last couple of years and we’ve worked on some pretty big events like provincial soccer, provincial track and field and Hoopla. I can honestly say that through all of those sporting events, his passion has always been just to showcase Saskatoon athletics. He truly cares about kids and coaches. He’s 100 per cent a relationships guy. Everywhere he goes, he knows somebody and he’s always more than happy to stop and have a talk and make somebody laugh,” said Amy Pearson, a SSSAD executive member, in a video for Heilman.

Dave Crowell, former colleague of Heilman, said “Everybody’s got success stories and we talk about the praises but Jud has led communities, colleagues, teams, athletes, children and youth through a whole series of challenges, whether it’s the loss of a student to tragedy or a fellow coach or an entire season because of a pandemic. Jud has always been the one who steps up. He never shies away when things get tough and that’s when you see Jud’s humanity at its finest.”

On top of the prestigious award, Heilman has also confirmed he will be retiring from the SSSAD. Although he has no immediate retirement plans, he does hope to spend some time with his wife and two daughters. Heilman is the son of Kathy Heilman, a former reporter for the Wilkie Press.