Woodward gears up for last hurrah
Hyacks coach retiring after provincials, eight seasons after writing his resignation letter
Doug Woodward coached his first high school game with the New Westminster Hyacks in 1972. He’ll coach his last one on Saturday.
Woodward, 69, says that he’s retiring from teaching and coaching at the end of this school year. The Hyacks open the 16-team, triple-A girls’ basketball provincial championships Wednesday at the Langley Events Centre. The final games are on Saturday, highlighted by the championship tilt at 5 p.m.
“I just couldn’t quit. I had my (resignation) letter written probably eight years ago,” said Woodward, a physical education teacher. “It has just stayed in my dining room for all this time. I made the decision about a month-and-a-half ago. I feel good about it. It’s time. It’s really nice getting to the tournament, because I know what day my last game is.”
Woodward has taken brief breaks from coaching during his four-plus decades at New West, but, for the better part of that time, he’s been at the helm of a team, and usually a girls’ basketball outfit.
He’s a walking, talking history lesson for New Westminster. He’s coached the daughters of former players on multiple occasions.
Bill Ranford was a goalie in the NHL for 15 seasons, highlighted by backstopping the Edmonton Oilers to the 1990 Stanley Cup. Most of us remember him for that. Woodward recalls him as a teen in the mid1980s, playing for the New Westminster Bruins and dating one of his basketball players, Kelly Atkinson. They wound up getting married.
“He was the only guy I would let come into the gym to watch us practise back then,” Woodward said. “I don’t know why. There was just something about him that I liked.”
Classic Woodward. He’s a character. He’s a guy who has routinely revelled in playing the underdog card. He’s at it again. New West, the thirdplace team out of the Lower Mainland zone, opens the tournament Wednesday facing the Semiahmoo Totems, the South Surrey side that
took third in the Fraser Valley qualifier.
With eight Fraser Valley teams advancing to the tournament and rules against teams from the same zone meeting in the first round, tournament officials had some tricky decisions in setting up games. They’ve been hesitant to announce
the complete seedings, but it’s fair to guess that Semiahmoo and New West are both of the middle-of-thepack entries to start.
The Totems are coached by the husband-and-wife team of Mike and Allison McNeill. They’re probably best known in these parts for their time with the Simon Fraser
University Clan, highlighted by Allison’s run as head coach of the women’s program there. Allison was also head coach of the Canadian women’s team for 11 years before stepping down in 2012. It’s an impressive resume. Most opposing coaches wouldn’t be so vocal in bringing it up, though.
“What am I supposed to do against Allison and Mike?” Woodward said. “I’m trying to figure out, how am I out-coaching them? Look at everything they’ve done.”
One of SFU’s best players during Allison’s tenure was Nikola Hanson. Allison recruited Hanson after she was named a first all-star at the Triple A girls’ tournament in 1990, playing under Woodward with the Hyacks. It’s further proof of everything that Woodward has done.
“New Westminster is a great place to live and work,” said Woodward. “Families stay for generations. You get to see what these kids make of their lives. There are players who are now lawyers and doctors, who have their own companies and are working in the office of the prime minister. That’s what you really enjoy. You enjoy seeing how they progress afterwards.”