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Inducted into the Hall of Fame in
2001.
A successful player and coach, with awards from both ends of a career in
Britain stretching over 20 years, Jim Lynch holds the unique achievement
of coaching play-off championship winners in the Heineken British League
and the Sekonda Superleague, with the subsequent award of Coach of the
Year on both occasions.
In his first championship triumph, as a player-coach, he led Murrayfield
Racers to victory in April 1986, having already lifted the Norwich Union
Cup the previous autumn. In that Wembley final he scored the insurance
goal, in the 4-2 win over Dundee, on an assist from Paul Heavey - the
man who replaced him at Ayr, when in October 2000 ill health forced Jim
to stand down from the job he loved.
He first came into contact with William J. Barr in January 1992, after a
season and a half playing at Humberside, moving behind the bench to
coach the Barr sponsored Ayr Raiders based at the Summit Centre in
Glasgow.
He then renewed his connection with Kirkcaldy for three years, taking
Flyers to runners-up spot in the British League's Premier Division in
1994. That autumn he surprisingly moved, with his assistant, the late
Milan Figala and his stepson Steven, a youngster with promise, to
Dumfries.
With the advent of the Superleague the following season he re-newed his
acquaintance with Barr, owner of the Ayr Scottish Eagles, the only new
club to join the rookie league. Astute recruiting of a mixture of North
American's and Europeans immediately paid off with an unbeaten run of 11 matches,
although losing in final of the B & H Cup to Cardiff. A
respectable third place in the ISL and a play-off semi-final gained Jim
the Coach of the Year award.
The next winter saw his greatest coaching triumph with the grand slam of
B&H Cup, The Express Cup, Superleague title and an overtime play-off
final victory. A second successive Coach of the Year award acknowledged
the skills of hockey's 'quiet man'.
Eagles' success gained them entry to the European Hockey League with
outstanding home and away victories, by 4-2 and 3-1 in October 1998 over
Russian champions AK Bars Kazan.
Born on 6 June 1953 in Toronto, Lynch came to Scotland to join Fife
Flyers with two friends in September 1980, following a junior career as
a winger with the local Markham Waxers and later in the Inter Collegiate
League.
In his first outing he scored three times for Flyers in a 14-3 Northern
League win at Aviemore. By the end of his inaugural campaign he was
named joint winner of the NL Overseas Rookie of the Year award and to
the All-Star 'A' team. Third highest scorer in the Scottish National
League and NL the next winter earned Jim a second successive All-Star
'A' rating.
Returning from holiday in Canada, in the summer of 1983, to find he had
been replaced at Kirkcaldy, he contacted Alex Dampier at Murrayfield. He
stayed in the Scottish capital for three seasons, taking over from
Dampier as player-coach two years later, to mastermind Racers to his
first Cup and play-off triumphs.
After a long, but finally successful battle with the BIHA to be
reclassified as a non-import, the ambitious Solihull Barons made an
approach for his services for the 1989/90 campaign. Appointed coach the
next autumn, but always his own man, he quit before the season commenced
due to management interference, to join Humberside where his on ice
performances assisted Seahawks in gaining promotion to the Premier
Division.
Whilst admitting to not being a great skater, as a player Jim was
blessed with all round on ice vision, enabling him, during a 12 year
playing career in Britain, to amass a total of 927 points from 450 goals
and 477 assists in 438 competitive matches whilst serving 545 penalty
minutes.
As a coach never afraid to speak his mind, his 59% win average in the
Superleague from 141 victories in 261 matches speaks for itself.
Compiled with research, provided
by Martin C.Harris –
March 2001.
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