The Osoyoos Coyotes will have two new assistant coaches behind the bench this fall, including former co-captain Thierry Martine, who helped lead the team to the KIJHL championship five years ago. Former assistant coach Geoff Goodman has left the Coyotes to take over as head coach and general manager of the Princeton Posse. (Richard McGuire file photo)
Ken Law has hired the former team captain who led the Osoyoos Coyotes to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) season championship five years ago to join him behind the bench as an assistant coach.
Law, who is entering his sixth-consecutive season as head coach and general manager of the Coyotes, has hired Thierry Martine as an assistant coach. Martine was the co-captain of the Coyotes when they joined the KIJHL during the team’s inaugural season back in 2009-10.
Law has also hired Carl Poole as an assistant coach. Poole hails from Boulder, Colorado, where Law has been conducting a summer hockey school for the past several years.
Poole and Martine are both 24, meaning Law will be older than the combined ages of his two new assistant coaches.
However, the youthful enthusiasm and passion of the game that are shared by Martine and Poole are exactly what he was looking for when he went searching to replace Geoff Goodman, who left the Coyotes this spring after two seasons as an assistant coach to take over as head coach and general manager of the KIJHL’s Princeton Posse.
“Both Thierry and Carl are young guys who will be able to relate much easier in some respects with the kids on our team,” said Law. “I know a lot of players get a little sick and tired of me barking at them and it will be nice to have a couple of young guys on the bench that they can talk to before, during and after the games. I’m really looking forward to working with two young guys who share the same passion for the game as I do and who are committed to being part of a winning organization.”
Poole started in hockey as a trainer at the junior level and has become more and more interested in coaching and has shown great passion for the game during the many years he has worked with him at the summer hockey school in Denver, said Law.
“He wanted a chance to get into coaching at a higher level and hopefully he can come to Osoyoos and learn and I know his goal is to eventually get his own team down the road as a head coach,” he said.
Martine is the assistant golf professional at Fairview Mountain Golf Course in Oliver and won’t be able to join the Coyotes as an assistant coach on a full-time basis until his golfing job finishes in the fall, he said.
Martine was an outstanding player and co-captain during that championship season five years ago and continued his success in the coaching ranks as he and fellow Coyotes’ players Brock Anderson and Brandon Watson led the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association Bantam Rep team to the league title and a spot in this spring’s provincial championships.
“Thierry was a real leader on the ice and I know he will bring that same passion and enthusiasm to our team as an assistant coach,” said Law. “I know he’ll be a great addition to our staff.”
The Coyotes begin training camp for the upcoming season in less than one month as camp opens at the Sun Bowl Arena on Aug. 27 and continues for four days.
When Goodman first accepted the job in Osoyoos, he and Law discussed the fact he would like to become a head coach as quickly as possible and the opportunity to take over the hockey program in Princeton was one he couldn’t turn down, said Goodman.
“I knew I had to get experience at the junior level and that you have to pay your dues and get to know this league,” said Goodman. “Ken was kind enough to bring me on as an assistant and during this past two years, I’ve managed to learn a lot through him and get the experience I need to move on to the next level.”
Goodman, who works as an accounts manager in Penticton, said he had a wonderful experience over the past two years with the Coyotes’ organization.
“I was only going to leave if I had the right opportunity, with the right organization and Princeton was actually one of the places that I had my eye on and when this opportunity came up, I couldn’t say no, so it has worked out really well,” he said.
Prior to his years in Osoyoos, Goodman spent a number of years successfully developing young talent through out the Okanagan minor hockey system which culminated with a Penticton Midget Tier 2 Provincial Championship in 2013.
“Leading the Posse into battle against Law and the Coyotes is going to be a fun experience, said Goodman.
“This happens in hockey a lot … people leave one organization and join another,” he said. “It’s going to be exciting going up against Ken because he’s the best coach in the league and he really taught me a lot. It will be fun and challenging to go up against him and the Coyotes next season.”
He has commuted from Penticton to Osoyoos for games and practices for two years, so he’s used to putting many miles on his vehicle and that won’t change with his new job in Princeton, said Goodman.
The Posse have been known to ice big, aggressive and tough teams over the past few years and his vision is to continue that tradition, while adding more players with skill, said Goodman.
“We have a small barn in Princeton and we’ve had teams that are big and use up a lot of space on the ice,” he said. “But you also have to have skill and guys who can put the puck in the net and my goal will be to bring in more players like that, while also keeping players who are belligerent and tough to play against. You need a balance between skill and toughness and my job is to bring in a nice mix.”
Goodman is already busy recruiting players for his first year behind the bench in Princeton.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
