Hockey Team Celebrates Coronado Resident Elliot Feldman, 35 Years After Winning Season

Growing up in Boston playing “pond hockey,” Elliot Feldman never imagined how that would translate into life changing experiences later in life. One of which was a celebration this past weekend when seven of his former hockey players from the 1988/89 team at Boston Latin Academy came to honor their beloved coach. He had inherited the team who had only won three games the previous season and went on to go undefeated his first year as coach.

All grown now, the Boston Latin Academy hockey players fondly remember their coach and how they never wanted to disappoint him. They teared up as they told countless stories, always pointing out the positive influence their one-of-a- kind coach had on their lives. They showered him with oodles of Boston swag including shirts, hats, jackets, trophies, and even a street sign with his name and team record.

“It was great getting the gang back together,” echoed the sentimental group during the tribute weekend, which included good food, competitive golf, and an abundance of reminiscing. Many of the team members that couldn’t make the trip shared their memories in a highlight book created for Feldman. Thirty-five years later, Coach Feldman was touched to learn just how much his influence made a difference in his players’ lives.

Feldman and his wife Marilyn discovered Coronado when their son Ben, a Navy helicopter pilot, was assigned to NAS North Island. They visited seasonally for 18 years and transitioned to living full-time at the Shores five years ago. Several local residents and realtors jokingly refer to him as the “unofficial Mayor of the Shores” because he connects with so many people in his role as bartender at the Beach Club Bar.

Throughout his life, Feldman has had a reputation for helping people and connecting people who can help each other, both on and off the ice. He played on an all-city team in middle school, then on a competitive team in high school, which went to the finals as one of the top five teams in Massachusetts. Then he received a scholarship to play hockey at American International College, where the team was the best in Division II in 1969 and played their championship game at Springfield Coliseum.

After college, he found his calling as a teacher for special needs children and rose through the ranks to become the Director of Special Education for the city of Boston. He later became the Director of Alternative Education and helped develop a curriculum using his special education model, with a small student-to-teacher ratio to connect dropout kids back to education. Ironically, he notes that his own father dropped out of school in the seventh grade, and he has always been passionate about education and helping kids. “He has always had a tremendous impact on his students who remember him years later,” shared his daughter Eve, an international aerialist.

Hockey has remained a constant throughout Feldman’s life. He was the Executive Director of the Boston Police Athletic League, which promoted positive interactions between cops and kids. His Boston Police hockey team played against teams from the FBI, DEA, Secret Service, among others, as they raised needed funds for police officers and their families. During his coaching of the police hockey team for 20 years, they raised more than $400,000. After 911, he wanted to do something to help the first responders in New York City, so he organized a hockey game at Boston Garden which raised $100,000 for the New York Police Department and New York Fire Department’s Widow and Children’s Fund.

Through the years, Feldman coached at various schools and received The Boston Globe All Scholastic Coach of the Year award in 1989.  He describes his coaching style as “old school” and points out that there were no participation trophies in his arena; players had to earn their spot on the ice.

“I’m a coach who strives to motivate my players and make them believe that they are the best. I emphasize discipline and tough love, with the score determining the length of the bench,” highlights Feldman.