AUHS grad to train U.S.A. hockey team at Olympics

San Jose Sharks/Don Smith

MENDING SHARKS:
Currently the head trainer of the San Jose Sharks, Ray Tufts worked for the San Francisco 49ers, earning three rings during their Superbowl run in the 1980s. Tufts, formerly of Happy Valley, is preparing to work as head trainer for the U.S.A. Olympic Hockey Team.

Ray Tufts, formerly of Happy Valley, will be heading to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. Tufts, who has been the head trainer for the San Jose Sharks hockey team for the past 13 years, recently received a special invitation to be the head trainer for the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

Members of the Sharks organization praised Tufts, their head trainer, and have expressed pride in his many achievements, according to Tufts.

"I received a call from the general manager of the Sharks, who in turn, had received a call from Team USA's general manager, Brian Burke," recalled Tufts.

Burke was asking permission from the Shark's since Tufts would be required to donate two weeks of his time in July and August to the U.S. Olympic Committee. The National Hockey League shuts down during the Olympics, so his time away from the Sharks during the games isn't as critical to the team.

In preparation, Tufts will attend training centers in Colorado Springs and in San Diego, working with various athletes. In August he will attend a development camp in Chicago to work with potential Olympic athletes.

Ray Tufts, 43, graduated from Happy Valley Elementary School and Anderson High before studying sports medicine at Sacramento State University. From there he joined the San Francisco 49ers as an athletic trainer.

He spent 10 years with the 49ers during their glory years and earned three Super Bowl rings from 1988, 1989 and 1994. Tufts remains a close friend of many players from that era.

Among his other accomplishments, Tufts headed the training staff for the 1997 Western Conference All-Star hockey team.

Back home in Happy Valley, those who have had the good fortune to know Ray Tufts can easily understand why he was presented with this Olympic opportunity. Tufts presented himself as a dedicated professional who loves the sport of hockey.