Would have had this up earlier tonight, but I had curling. The world doesn't stop when crazy stuff goes down. The good news, we won 9-2.
Also, here is the interview I did with Dan O'Connor on the Sports Fix tonight.
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It has been a long, somewhat emotional day and now I have a little time to relax and give my own thoughts on this whole thing.
When Rod Perkins called me this morning and said he had a "news scoop" I certainly did not expect it to be Larry Wintoneak getting the axe. You can say what you want about Larry's coaching style and the team's fortunes this year, but the news caught me completely off guard.
I felt Larry had mellowed a bit in recent times, but at his core, as a coach, he has not changed. There have always been players who could not handle the way he runs his team. There has always been the odd player leaving, and that happens with other Junior A teams too. Larry Wintoneak can be a polarizing figure to his players. Some guys love playing for him, and others can't stand it.
In the time I have been here, Rod Perkins and the rest of the board have expressed nothing but support and admiration for Larry and the way he runs his ship.
But in past years, Larry has gotten results with this team, despite the odd off-ice spat. This year, the team has not lived up to very high expectations so far, and perhaps that combined with the departure of a few players was enough for the board.
Did he lose the room? I've gotten a few no's from players, but also some interesting comments that seem to back up the suggestion that everything wasn't rosy in the room. Players have told me about the sense of relief, even some happiness at practice today. That maybe the respect factor was no longer there. That some players just weren't having fun and felt like Larry was on their case all the time.
It seems so odd to think that only a few months ago, Larry had just signed an extension and been named head coach for Canada West at the WJAC. There was so much optimism, and now he is out the door before Christmas.
On to my personal experience with Larry.
It took a while for us to warm up to each other. Larry can be intimidating for anyone meeting him for the first time, let alone a 22-year-old rookie reporter who had just moved across the country. Once we got to know each other a little better, I can honestly say that dealing with Larry Wintoneak was a pleasure. Sure, he is gruff at times and we had moments when we didn't see eye to eye, but he always made time for me and he was always frank during our interviews.
Dealing with the media didn't seem like it was just a chore for him. We always chatted before and after an interview talking about what was new, the weather, him asking how things were back home in PEI, about my parents. We had many a great conversation about the Island after he was there for the 2009 WJAC. He took an interest in how I was doing in Kindersley and I appreciated that. We would often talk about Walker and the rest of his children, and how they were doing.
Each time they came back from a road trip, I'd interview him over a coffee at Tim's, which of course made it better.
I had the odd parent ask me what it was like dealing with Larry, and tell me they didn't envy me for it. To be honest, it was never that tough. You treat him with respect and you get it back. Sure, sometimes I didn't look forward to interviewing him after a bad game, but he never refused to talk, even after being ousted from the playoffs, and I was grateful for that.
Larry taught me a lot over the past two-plus years and helped me to grow as a sports reporter. I wish him all the best wherever he winds up next, and I'm sure he will land on his feet somewhere.
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