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Volleyball Coach 23 years
11 Provincial Championships
3 Appearances at Nationals
National Bronze Medal
From 1970-1997
 Larry
Ethier coached volleyball in Wetaskiwin for twenty-three years. During
his years of coaching, his volleyball teams won eleven Provincial
Championships, made three appearances at the National Championships, and
won a National Bronze Medal. Larry also established the Wetaskiwin
Volleyball Club. It is for his time and effort, his dedication, his
passion for coaching the sport of volleyball, his achievements, and his
contributions to the youth of Wetaskiwin that Larry is being inducted
into the Wetaskiwin & County Sports Hall of Fame.
Larry moved to Wetaskiwin
in 1970 to begin his teaching career at Queen Elizabeth Junior High
School. As a first-year teacher it was expected that he would coach a
boys volleyball team. Having no experience in the sport, Larry attended
a volleyball coaching clinic and launched his coaching career.
Inexperience in Sport
Launches Prolific
23 Year Volleyball Coaching Career
Wetaskiwin and Japan
In 1976, after six years
coaching boys at Queen Elizabeth, Larry transferred to the Wetaskiwin
Composite High School where he continued to coach volleyball teams.
Between 1976 and 1992 Larry’s WCHS teams won six Provincial
Championships. Four of the Provincial Championships were with the boys'
teams and two were with the girls' teams. Larry’s 1977, 1980, 1983 and
1984 boys' teams each won the 3A Provincial Title. His 1989-90 girls
won the 3A Provincials and the next year the girls chose to play at the
4A level against much larger schools and again won the Provincial
title. The 1990-91 girls' team with Larry as their coach was inducted
into the Wetaskiwin & County Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 for their
outstanding achievements. During Larry’s coaching years at WCHS there
wasn’t a year when his team didn’t represent their zone at the
Provincial Championships, quite an accomplishment!
Never Missed Representing
Zone at
High School Provincials
In the spring of 1978
Larry established the Wetaskiwin Volleyball Club Avalanche to give
Wetaskiwin volleyball players more opportunity for improvement and
competition once their school leagues were completed. From then on,
once the high school season was over in the fall, Larry continued to
coach into the spring with the WVC program. In the club program,
Larry’s Juvenile Boys teams won Provincial Championships and represented
Alberta at the National Championships in 1979, 1982 and 1984. His 1984
WVC Juvenile team won the Bronze Medal at the National Championships.
In 1985 Larry coached a WVC Midget team that won the right to represent
Alberta at the Western Canadian Championships. Additionally, in 1992
Larry coached a Bantam team at the club level and won another Provincial
Championship.
When Larry left Wetaskiwin
in 1992 he went on to teach in Japan until 1997. Again he coached
volleyball and continued his winning ways. The teams he coached in
Japan won five consecutive league and five consecutive Asia
International Schools Championships.
Coach "E's" Methods Ahead
of the Times
Athletes who were coached
by “Coach E” consider themselves lucky to have had him as an influence
in their lives and he has their total respect. They all credit Larry
for their successes in volleyball. His coaching methods including
visualization and his “book” of positive affirmations were “ahead of the
times”. He was able to instil in his players the value of hard work,
goal setting, a positive attitude, confidence, and belief in their
abilities - all attributes that these young people would carry with them
into adulthood.
Larry Ether has been one
of the most successful coaches in Wetaskiwin Composite High School’s
history. He established a “winning” mentality for the school volleyball
program and positively influenced hundreds of student athletes. During
his teaching career, most of Larry’s spare time was spent volunteer
coaching on the volleyball court. We applaud his selfless dedication,
his outstanding achievements and are honoured to induct Larry into the
Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame.
Information
about an inductee is collected from published sources,
sports archives, scrapbooks,
anecdotal information from family, friends and fans, and the
athlete.
However, sometimes
the best stories and personal insights are gleaned at the induction dinner from
the introductory comments or acceptance speech of the
inductee or their representative.
Where possible we have included this type of information for
your enjoyment.
Read the
opening comments made by Kristi Paukstat when introducing
Larry Ethier.
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