What began as four minor hockey coaches taking advantage of some unused ice time at the old Port Coquitlam Rec Centre to stretch their own legs is celebrating its 50th anniversary on March 15.
The PoCo Coachmen have never been part of an organized league. Rather, the loose collection of players aged 35 and over has gathered weekly to get some exercise, make friends, swap stories and drink beer.
The game was always incidental, said 82-year-old Don Sanbourin, one of a dwindling handful or original Coachmen who total about 150 through the years.
“The group has always emphasized having a good time.”
The games the Coachmen play are informal affairs with the weekly turnout of about 30 splitting into two squads to knock the puck around for an hour or so. One player from each side is tasked to keep score and if the game is tied when their ice session expires, it’s next goal wins. There’s no body contact and slap shots are forbidden.
“We all have to go to work on Monday,” Sanbourin said.
The group does travel annually to places like 100 Mile House, Hope, Seychelt, Chilliwack and Ashcroft to test themselves in tournaments with more organized beer leaguers, but as far as any of the Coachmen can remember, they’ve won very few games.
The competitions that coincided with a women’s curling bonspiel are especially memorable, said one.
“They sure know how to party.”
Sanbourin said over the years, the Coachmen have hailed from diverse backgrounds, from tradesmen to professionals, from newcomers in town looking for a game to millionaires. They’re equalized by nicknames like “Frog,” “Bedbug,” “Fossil” and “Green Hornet.”
"in the dressing room, everyone is the same," Sanbourin said.
Every Coachman serves a one-year "apprenticeship" to ensure they fit in with the group, which votes at its annual post-season meeting to determine whether a rookie can stay.
As far as Sanbourin can remember, only two prospective Coachmen never made the cut.
Victor Kryzanowski, 63, said the Coachmen have given him the same sense of small-town camaraderie he felt growing up in Saskatchewan. Friendships form quickly on the ice and in the dressing room and with such a broad range of players, there’s always someone with a skill or trade who can help out a teammate in need, whether it’s with carpentry, plumbing or bookkeeping affairs.
“The hockey was almost an afterthought,” Kryzanowski said.
Phil Gallagher, 72, said he still attends all the Coachmen’s social gatherings like the annual alumni pizza night even though he stopped playing at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Gallagher said from the time he joined the team in 2003, he knew he’d found his tribe.
“Right away you made friends here,” he said. “You identify as a Coachmen.”
Sanbourin said the pandemic and the consequent shutdown of sports facilities because of public health restrictions was a test for the Coachmen.
He said the group kept paying for its regular ice time even though the rinks were closed and they couldn’t play because they knew if they ever lost their regular slot on Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m., they’d have a hard time getting it back.
Stuart MacInnes, 69, said the physical and mental health benefits of the weekly games are immeasurable. A Coachmen since 1998, he said getting on the ice takes him back to his younger days playing hockey in Ontario but the real fun occurs before the opening faceoff and after the final whistle.
“It’s a joyous change room,” MacInnes said. “It’s so nice to hear what is going on in everyone’s life and commiserate with each other.”
Sanbourin said as with any group that’s grown old together for so long, some players have finished their ride on life’s Zamboni. The absences are duly noted on the reams of annual lineups he keeps safeguarded in clear plastic sleeves stored in a manilla folder, a reminder of the strength and ultimate fragility of the bonds they’ve formed.
“It’s a community,” said Kryzanowski.
“It’s a privilege,” added Gallagher.
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