Former Ohio hockey assistant coach Dave Matthews has missed out on an opportunity of a lifetime - for now.

He would have had the chance to coach Team Canada in the 1998 Winter Olympics were it not for the National Hockey League allowing its players to play for their respective teams in Nagano, Japan. Team Canada opens its Olympic competition tomorrow.

Matthews, an Ontario, Canada native, received his master's in Athletic Administration from Ohio in 1991. During his studies he was assistant hockey coach for Rob Wade, the predecessor to present coach Craig McCarthy.

He is currently attending the National Coaching Institute at the University of Calgary. The institute involves a five-level certificate program. Matthews is working towards his fourth certificate. One of the 12 tasks required to receive level four certification is to work with a master coach and his team.

Matthews has teamed with head coach Andy Murray of the men's Canadian National Team. Murray led Canada to the world title at Helsinki, Finland in May with Mike Johnston as his assistant coach.

Murray and Johnston have traveled to Nagano as assistant and associate coach respectively of the Canadian Olympic team under head coach Marc Crawford of the Colorado Avalanche.

But despite staying behind, Matthews is not bitter. Once he gets his certification he will be qualified to coach at any level of hockey.

"It is a great opportunity for me," he said. "The caliber of these players and coaches gives me exposure to the men's and women's Olympics teams. There are numerous high profile people that are in and out of our facility everyday."

The role of the men's Canadian National Team has been restructured because NHL players field the team. Its main role now is to play in a number of high level international tournaments.

"We are expected to be a presence since we are from Canada," he said. "It's important that we represent our country well.

"Most guys are aspiring to move on. A lot of them are drafted very high in the NHL entry draft and have been in the minors working on their one or two weaknesses."

The team's rigorous training and playing schedule allows for that. The team can train for three and a half weeks at a time without a game and then play up to 13 games in the next three and a half weeks.

That training program attracted Anaheim Ducks center Paul Kariya, who played on the team during the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. He recently returned to the team this year to train for Nagano and get back into shape after his contract dispute that sidelined him until late December.

"He is arguably the best player in the world," Matthews said. "His work ethic and skills are something we will always remember."

Matthews won't soon forget his training and opportunities he received at Ohio, either. He joins a long list of the College of Health and Human Service students who moved on to great opportunities in the sports industry.

"Their success says a lot for our school and the educational opportunities we provide," said Jim Gilmore, executive director of campus recreation.

Gilmore was an adviser to Ohio hockey for 18 years before moving into his job at the Charles J. Ping Student Recreation Center.

"I always recommend students who don't know where they want to go to try sports sciences and that is what leads to an athletic administration position such as Dave Matthews is now in."

Matthews emphasizes the importance of a master's degree if students have aspirations of coaching at an intercollegiate level.

"People get overlooked very easily if they don't have it to back them up - they simply get written-off," he said. "But more importantly you must love what you are getting into. I think I wrote 39 papers while I was at Ohio and 38 of them were on hockey."

McCarthy is a big proponent of the value of the educational opportunities here at Ohio.

"Dave (Matthews) is just another great example of how our program gives students the chance to get experience and immediate feedback on how well they are doing in their field," he said.