Jim Duran Leads Tanner Team Rich in Tradition

The following questions were answered by Woburn High School boys hockey coach Jim Duran, who took over as head coach in 1997. The Tanners open their postseason quest in the first round of the North Division 1 playoffs on Sunday. Woburn, the No. 4 seed, battles No. 5 seed and defending state champion Burlington beginning at 4:30 p.m.

How much does it help to have consistency with you having been with the program for 16 years?

I think it helps. We have always been blessed with good players, good goaltending. I don’t think the whole coach thing makes a difference. I think discipline does and we have good kids, so that’s a recipe for a good team. Our kids have been great this year. We exceeded our expectations and it all comes down to tremendous senior leadership.

What keeps you coming back for more than a decade as coach? 

It has to be the kids, how hard they work and just the tradition of the program. I just love hockey. Sometimes I get sick of it, my wife gets sick of it, my wife gets sick of me. But I love the tradition that we’ve grown here and I enjoy working with our coaching staff. We always are going and we keep working to get better which is all a credit to the kids. Without good kids, you’re nothing.

Why has Woburn traditionally had such strong hockey teams?

We’ve always had good hockey, a good youth program and people are interested in hockey. And once it starts, it doesn’t stop. Woburn is probably still probably known as a football town, but our basketball programs do pretty well too. I think it’s just the hard-working, city type kids that we have. We may not have all the talent, but we work hard and try to get an honest effort every night.

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