Storm display thunderous support for coach By Randy O'Donnell Reclining on a comfortable leather chair in an upscale Saint John coffee shop, Larry Harlow is doing his best coaching of the day. "No, mom," he says, holding a slim black cellphone to his left ear. "You can't just call them. You've got to vote on the computer. "You go to chunky.tsn.ca/ and you vote there," he continues, a small smile curling his closely coiffed grey moustache as he explains the intricacies of the backslash to the 78-year-old woman on the other end. Like most mothers Marie Harlow wants to support her son. Unlike all but three other Canadian moms, her son has a chance to be voted Canada's most valuable coach. Larry Harlow, the driving force behind the Saint John Storm women's football team, is one of four finalists for the Chunky Most Valuable Coach Award, a co-operative project between TSN, the Coaching Association of Canada and Campbell's Chunky Soup and Chili. Commercials have been airing on TSN since March 2 and voters can go online until March 29 to select a winner. The contest has become a two-coach race between Harlow and Stephen Burke of Calgary. Most days Harlow surges into first place with the early East Coast vote and ends the day in second after the Mountain Time contingent puts their lap tops to bed. Although the website does not display voting figures, team members figure Harlow and Burke are within 100 votes of each other. Harlow doesn't keep as close an eye on the race as his players do. In his mind he has already won. He won when his 30 players got together to nominate him. He won when their application proved so persuasive that he made it to the final 20. It was victory enough when he sat down and read their testimonials on the Chunky website after he was named a finalist. "You really don't get into coaching for any kind of recognition. You do it for the players," he says as a driving Friday snowstorm pelts the window behind him. "What the girls have done has come from the heart and it's truly humbling. Really, having them nominate me is enough." Somehow his players don't feel the same way, at least not anymore. Initially, the contest seemed a great way to say thank you for his years of unfailing dedication to them as persons and players. But once it looked like Harlow might win, it was game on. "It's important for our team and Football New Brunswick to have one of our own recognized for their commitment to developing football for women but also for youth and the sport as a whole in our province," says linebacker Alanna Waberski, who adds with a chuckle when prodded, "it also has to do with always wanting to win, I'll admit that." Adds teammate Michelle Young-Mather: "When we heard about the contest we thought it would be a great way to show our appreciation for all his hours of dedication, for taking a team that was last place€‰€¦€‰and became undefeated champs. "Then when he made it to the top four it was like, 'OK let's get to work here." And get to work they have. Each team member votes as early and often as is allowed on the website. They've cajoled, pestered and hounded all their contacts to make sure they vote every day. The Facebook group Vote Larry Harlow has been established and this Saturday the team will be out in full force at Wal-Mart, lap tops and brochures in tow, trying to get the vote out. The reward for being named coach of the year includes a VIP training camp with a nationally recognized coach and a $5,000 grant for the sports organization of the winner's choice. But it's more than that for the members of the Saint John Storm football team. It's their way of expressing gratitude, of mobilizing a community around a man who has rallied the Saint John sporting community for 33 years, of applying the winning attitude that he's instilled in them as players and persons. In their hearts Larry Harlow has earned that kind of effort and deserves to be Canada's most valuable coach. Randy O'Donnell is the sports editor of the Telegraph-Journal. He can be reached at odonnell.randy@telegraphjournal.com
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