NOR' WESTER FOUNDER PASSES

Tom Krywyczka (AKA "Tommy K.") has been actively involved in the game of lacrosse in Manitoba for over thirty years. Tom has been a player, coach, manager, executive member, referee, and organizer. He started as a team manager, novice coach and player and ended winning, as a player 1 junior championship and 2 senior championships and as a player/coach he won 2 senior championships. Tom also coached at two senior B national championships. Tom was instrumental in growing the game in North End and the city of Winnipeg.

 

Tom's involvement with lacrosse started in 1969, when he volunteered to be the manager of the

fledgling Nor'Westers Midget lacrosse team. Tom borrowed a lacrosse stick from his neighbor and

within two weeks he became skilled enough to add assistant coach to his profile.

 

In 1970, Tom joined the newly formed Nor' Westers junior team while he continued to coach and

manage the Nor' Westers midget team. He was involved with lacrosse at least 4 nights week. When

the Nor' Westers partnered with the Boyd Park Community Centre to provide a minor lacrosse

program for the North End, Tom was an instructor for the Saturday morning house league sessions at

Old Ex. The two house league teams (the Reds and the Blues), after practicing for nearly 2 months,  played a series of exhibition games in Portage La Prairie. The midget Nor'Westers battled to the city semi-finals. The Junior Nor' Westers, in their first year of operation, captured the Provincial Championship, with Tom being a key member of the Nor'Westers defense. In the off season worked fund raising to cover the costs of the upcoming season.

 

In 1971, the two house league teams formed the foundation of the Boyd Park teams that competed in

the Winnipeg Minor Lacrosse Association (WMLA) in Novice, Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget age

groups. The Boyd Park Nor' Westers had a program for players aged 10 to 21 years of age- all within

a 2-year span. Tom was a critical piece in this development as he played Junior, coached and

managed the Midget team and recruited Juvenile and Junior players to coach the Novice, Pee Wee,

and Bantam teams. Tom continued to be an instructor in the Saturday morning house.

 

In 1972, Tom took on the role of Vice-president for Winnipeg Minor Lacrosse Association. In his role as vice-president, Tom assisted Referee-in-chief, Jim Hanson, in recruiting, training, and organizing officials for all minor games, while continuing to play, coach, and manage for the Nor' Westers. As the WMLA continued to grow, demand for officials out stripped the supply of officials. Tom stepped into the breach, officiating minor lacrosse games on nights he was not playing or coaching. At the spring pre-season tournament Tom refereed 9 games over one weekend.

 

From 1973 to 1975, Tom played for the Senior St. Boniface Clubs, while coaching, managing, and

organizing lacrosse at the club and league level. The 1974 and 1975 Clubs won the Senior Provincial

title, with Tom being a key player on defense.

 

In 1976 Winnipeg hosted the Canadian Senior B Championships. Tom worked diligently behind the

scenes arranging for equipment and uniforms for the host team.

 

In 1977, the MLA granted the Nor' Westers a Senior league franchise, but only allowed the North End

team to protect six players from their 1976 Junior Championship team. Tom built the team around

the six players, Dave Stonoga, Margis Malisuskas, Warren Schau, Stan Didoshack, Tony Didoshack,

 and Lloyd Norton, and draft picks, Mike Gilbert, Alex Kradsny, and John Smith into solid competitive team that struggled through the season and not making the playoffs.

 

In 1978, the Senior Nor'Westers improved immensely, losing the championship to the Elmwood Shamrocks. By winning the title the Shamrocks earned the right to represent Manitoba at the national Senior B championships in Vernon. Due to work commitments, the Shamrocks could not attend the nationals, so the MLA invited the Nor'Westers to represent the province. Within 2 weeks, Tom put together a team largely composed of Nor'Wester players, senior and junior, with handful of pick-ups from the Shamrocks and Clubs. To make the job even more difficult, Air Canada went on strike, forcing the team to travel 31 hours by van to Vernon, arriving hours before their first game. Throughout the tournament, the under prepared and over matched squad played tough defensive lacrosse, keeping games close until the third period.

 

 

In 1979, Tom made most of his two picks, drafting Jim Thompson and Dave Steckler from the Kelvin Juniors. Thompson, who the Winnipeg Free Press described as "the best junior goal tender in

Canada", gave the Nor'Westers rock solid goal tending. Steckler's "moxy" and hard-nosed attitude

meshed perfectly with the North Enders' aggressive play. Good fortune intervened as the Senior league allowed the Nor 'Westers to pick up two players who arrived in Winnipeg just prior to the start of the season. These two players, Duncan Adams and Mike Donovan, proved to be invaluable acquisitions- Adams provided goal scoring while Donovan, a hard nose power forwarded provided leadership, big hits, and key goals. Around these additions, supported by group of experienced players, Lawrence Carpenter, Bob Boyar, John Guzej, and George Guertin, Krywyczka had built a contender. But the core North End team was devastated by injuries, forcing Tom to dress for the final series against the Shamrocks, which they swept in two games. Within two years in the senior loop, the Nor' Westers captured the championship.

 

In 1980, Tom drafted Norm Isjford and added a number of first-year players to the core of the championship team. The additions brought athleticism and enthusiasm to the already talented squad. Tom's team finished first and won the championship beating the North Stars. Again, due to injuries, Tom was forced to suit up for the championship series.

 

In 1984 Tom was asked to join a leadership team to select an all-star team to attend the Senior B national championship in Kitchener. The team had tryouts and then a series of practices and  exhibition games against the Thompson Thundersticks (Junior team) to prepare for the tournament, but it was not enough as number of key players were unable to attend the championships. So understaffed, inexperienced team represented the province with grit and desire against teams stacked with Senior A players. 

 

Tom continued to operate, coach, and manage the Nor'Westers franchise until 1985. With the few experience players left, Tom recruited several first-time players, who picked up the game quite quickly and kept the Nor'Westers competitive.

 

 

Tom dedicated over 27 years as a player, coach, executive member, and manager to lacrosse in

Manitoba. In those years Krywyczka:

• Introduced hundreds of players to the game of lacrosse
• Put in countless hours in meetings organizing the game of lacrosse in Winnipeg
• Revived the game in the North End and the city of Winnipeg
• Coached minor lacrosse for six years
• Single-handedly operated the Senior Nor'Westers from 1977-1985
• Won a Junior championship as a player with the Nor'Westers
• Won two Senior championships with the St. Boniface Clubs
• Coached and played two Senior Championships with the Nor'Westers
• Represented the province at national competitions twice

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Since retiring from the game Tom has been an active member of the Manitoba Lacrosse Alumni. Tom

joined the Board of the Manitoba Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2019.