Since 1962, Doug Cooling has been a steadfast contributor to the sporting community having been involved in six different sports as well as several community initiatives.
Doug’s sporting career began on the ball diamond where he played competitively for many years. In that period did pick up a gold medal at the Atlantic Midget Baseball Championship in 1970
He switched to fastball in the late ’70s where, for 6 years, he was a player-coach of the Hi-Lo Schooners intermediate squad.
Doug’s major accomplishments have taken place in the rink. He played hockey from the time he was a youth right through to the adult level. He attended the NB Winter Games in 1967 while playing with the Newcastle Bantam team. He played Junior A with the Riverview Red/Blues from ’71-74 finishing out his playing career in ’83 after a nine-year commitment to the Newcastle Industrial Hockey League playing for the Heath Steele Miners and Sunny Corner Mechanicals.
Rounding out his athletic career, Doug curled competitively from 1982-2000 and took up golf in ’84, a sport he continues to play today.
As a builder, Doug went on to coach minor baseball at the house league level for a few years in the 90’s. He was also coaching soccer in the Miramichi Minor Soccer Assoc during that time, hanging up his hat there in 2000. In curling, he was instrumental in organizing various bonspiels. And with golf, he held various executive positions at the club; being responsible for organizing and coordinating clinics and events.
As busy as Doug was in the ‘off seasons’, his contributions to the minor hockey system were most impactful. A coordinator and coach from the early 70’s into the mid 80’s. He served on the original organizing committee in 1999 of the Miramichi Jr A hockey club. This work on the committee eventually led to the formal and successful application of a franchise in the Maritime Jr A hockey league. The team is the Miramichi Timberwolves. From 2000 to date, Doug has been heavily involved in the organization as Vice President, President, and VP of Hockey Operations. In 2016 he accepted the position as the Timberwolves representative on the Maritime Junior A league board of directors, a position he still holds today. He was honored in 2017 with the “Moe Bent Builders Award” in the Maritime hockey league acknowledging significant contributions to a member team for longer than 8 years.
And with all of his free time, Doug has served on the Newcastle Recreation and Leisure Commission since 1997 where he has been the Chairperson since 2003. He spent 4 years on the Miramichi Recreation Advisory Board from 2012-2016.
Doug and his wife Phyllis raised their children, Alex and Nicholas while serving the community tirelessly and effectively.
Doug Cooling’s passion for sport has proven him to be an exceptional organizer and tireless volunteer; a true community champion. His commitment to the growth, maintenance, and sustainability of sport certainly makes him a worthy inductee to the Miramichi Sports Wall of Fame.