COACH OF THE YEAR

The winter hockey season is always a busy time for Larry Woo and his family, but this last one may have outpaced anything in the past. As a coach with two different teams and a developmental instructor at a pair of local hockey academies, the 51-year-old juggles an extraordinary schedule. To use modern hockey parlance, if his time on ice was charted this season it would be a statistic rivaled by few in the province, if any. In addition, he’s also a husband and father of three, including a hockey dad to two boys, Jett, a 22-year-old defenceman with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and Jonas, a 16-year-old defenceman with the WHL’s Winnipeg ICE. “It was probably one of the busiest winters we’ve had as a family and as a dad,” says Woo, the head coach of the U17 AAA Winnipeg Bruins. “It was a crazy winter, but it’s kind of what our family does.” Moreover, Woo is also the skills coach with the ICE, a proprietor and instructor at the Laker Hockey Academy, a guest instructor with the Churchill Hockey Academy and on occasion provides on-ice assistance with the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. It's a daily schedule that takes serious planning and personal preparation and often starts in the morning and can conclude late into the evening several times a week. A former elite player himself, Woo admits he’s a little “over the top” when it comes to organizing his itinerary, which consists of both print and electronic calendars and a daytimer. “I’m not a last-minute kind of guy,” he says. “What I do just works.” And this past season proved that, as the former University of Manitoba Bisons forward guided the Bruins to a stellar 34-2 regular season record and a perfect 7-0 run in the playoffs to capture the Winnipeg AAA U17 Hockey League championship. The Bruins were simply lethal under Woo and his staff’s leadership, which consisted of assistants Isaac Bellan, Cory Gurman, John Mork and Dan Stiver, and managers Christine Roskos and Jeff Mager. They boasted a 144 positive goal differential, gaudy special teams numbers (33% PP; 85% PK), five players in the league Top 10 in scoring, a goaltending tandem that led the league in goals-against average and three members of the team that claimed league awards, including Matthew Sawchyn (Top Defenceman), Carson White (Top Forward) and Dylan Jaquet (Hardest Working Player). Furthermore, when the Winnipeg AAA Council met to decide on their organization’s 2022-2023 Coach of the Year recipient, it was a brief meeting and Woo was the easy choice. It's an award the lifelong St. Boniface resident certainly appreciates, but also understands has a broader scope than just the work of one individual. “It’s more of a reflection for me of the team of the year or the group of the year,” he says. “Honestly one doesn’t work without the other.” And that included U17 Bruins players, parents, staff spouses and partners, especially his own wife, Dolly, who he attributes greatly to his success in aiding to manage his and their families extremely busy schedule that also includes daughter, Jaxi, a phycology student at the U of M. “I don’t think you achieve the things that we achieved without the help from everybody. I’m very thankful for (the award). It’s something that reflects on the season overall.” But to Mager, a friend of Woo’s since high school and part of his hockey staff the last five years, he was the clear and only choice as the Winnipeg AAA Coach of the Year. “I don’t think there’s someone that deserves it more,” he says. “Larry got the best out of every kid on our team. Every player was better at the end than when they started. Every one!” This past season was Woo’s first in the Winnipeg AAA system. After concluding his Major Junior career with Swift Current, another four years with the Bisons and some senior hockey (including two cameo roles as Park Kim in both Goon movies) he turned his attention to coaching the game in the early 2000s. He worked his way through the various minor hockey ranks, coaching both boys throughout until they reached AAA. That part of his journey has allowed him to understand what today’s players need in order to grow and develop. He has also benefited recently from working with ICE head coach James Patrick, who he says has provided a “window” into how to build and operate a successful program. Admittedly, Woo took that knowledge and vision and applied it to the U17 Bruins this season. An amenities table complete with gum, snacks, Powerade and tape was available in the dressing room for the players pre-game and in-between periods, a similar arrangement to what would be provided at higher levels of hockey. “Our goal was to take on this team and create an environment and culture,” he says. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for these kids to make sure they had a structured and balanced season and make them feel like this was a Junior-type of program.” On the ice, that team concept was applied to making sure all four lines and three sets of defence played regularly and the goaltender rotation equal, with everyone also receiving special teams opportunities. It was an intense winter, for sure! The Bruins participated in over 30 off-ice workouts, approximately 50 on-ice sessions and played in more than 50 games. They were taught several tactical defensive and offensive zone concepts and set-ups, breakouts and power-play configurations. “Every time we wanted to challenge them with something, they took it, implemented it and ran with it,” says Woo. But perhaps Woo’s greatest attribute as a coach this season was the understanding and integration that hockey is more than just a game, it’s a gateway to understanding and thriving in life. To him, family and school come before hockey and if you prioritize those ahead of everything else, then you’re developing good people, not just good hockey players. “He’s not just a coach,” says Mager. “He uses the term adopting 20 kids. To him, it’s about the entire development of the kid. He really brings the best out of every player.” Woo isn’t sure what next year will bring regarding his schedule. But understanding his love of hockey, his excellent ability to mentor and develop young players and to lead, it’s bound to be another busy one.