(Back-L-R): Pontiacs alumni Gordon Flinn, Vern Fox, Al Scott, Lorrie Baker and Bill Cuthbert; (Front): Fran Trehearne, Bob Blair and Stan Simpson. Late coach Larry Reid is photographed in the background. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

forever influential

Innisfail Pontiacs alums continue to honour late former coach

Jul 6, 2019 | 2:30 PM

You have to go back 57 years to 1962 when the Innisfail Pontiacs midget hockey squad was coached by a young man named Larry Reid.

Reid, who was in his late twenties at the time, later passing away in 2016, is still adulated to this day by his former players.

The Pontiacs Alumni, which was formed after Reid’s death, is led in part by Vern Fox.

Fox is one of several alumni from ’62 who turned out Saturday for an event where members were updated on the Larry Reid Memorial Coaching Development fund. The fund supports initiatives within the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association (IMHA).

Fox spoke about how crucial it is to ensure coaches are educated and trained properly.

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“Be patient with your kids. Work your coaching to make them enjoy the game and stay in the game, and don’t be a screamer,” is his message to up and coming bench bosses.

“Larry’s contributions to the game of hockey extended beyond Innisfail. He earned a Level 5 National Coach Certification Program designation, and for many years was an instructor for Hockey Alberta certification programs.”

The Reid family, including eldest son David (second from left), and patriarch Larry photographed in the background. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Through the years, Reid played for, coached and managed the Innisfail Eagles. In 1984, Reid was invited to Harbin, China where he spent two months coaching the country’s two national junior teams. He later played a key role in the IMHA’s formation.

Then in 2007, Hockey Alberta recognized Reid as one of the top 100 contributors in the province to coaching education and athlete development in the century prior.

Reid’s oldest son, David, held emotion back when asked what it would be like to see his father one day potentially be inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.

“He took his role very seriously and obviously earned the respect of many generations of players. These guys in particular are a special group, and clearly my father had a huge influence on their upbringing and now they’re paying it back,” says David, an alumnus of the Red Deer Rustlers during the 1970s.

“I think what they carried for all these years is the memory of a young man who had a vision of what a coach should be. He went to his first coaching clinic in 1962 and was a student of the game.”

Since the Pontiacs Alumni launched in 2017, they’ve raised more than $63,000 and have given two annual grants to Innisfail Minor Hockey worth close to $4,000 each. The goal for the endowment is to reach $70,000.

Stephen Bates, IMHA President and coach of the Midget ‘A’ Flyers, says the financial contributions have had a noticeable impact on the quality of coaches entering the system.

“I can’t imagine doing that, being a coach that impacted my players’ lives that much. With the players nowadays, you have to be a coach, but also to be able to listen to the players. These kids want to be involved in the process,” says Bates.

“There are all kinds of life lessons involved in the sport, which is what make it the greatest sport to play. If you don’t work hard, you’re not going to get anywhere in hockey, and you definitely won’t get anywhere in life.”

More details on the Larry Reid Memorial Coaching Development Fund are available through the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association.