Lou Vairo

Louis Joseph Vairo (born February 25, 1945) is an American former ice hockey coach and administrator.

Vairo was born on February 25, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York.

His family is of Italian descent, and he grew up in the neighborhood of Canarsie.

He and his friends played street hockey and roller hockey as a boy since there were no ice hockey rinks in Brooklyn.

They used improvised equipment for games, including a roll of tape for a puck, goal posts constructed from wood and fishing net, and goalie pads made from couch cushions and inner tubes.

Vairo recalled that they played daily, and sometimes on a frozen a swamp during winter using second-hand ice skates.

Vairo began playing organized sports in a roller hockey league for children ages 10 to 12.

He played on a team called the Canarsie Rangers.

They were inspired to join a league after a chance encounter with a man who taught them how to play, when "a beat-up old car drove up with "A-1 Pest Control" painted on the side".

Vairo dreamed of playing for the New York Rangers, and as a boy he attended games at Madison Square Garden III in the cheap seats.

His favorite players included Andy Bathgate, Rod Gilbert, Harry Howell, Jean Ratelle and Gump Worsley.

Vairo served two years in the United States Army and was discharged in 1966.

He later worked as an air conditioner repairman and short-order cook.

Vairo began his coaching career when a friend who organized the league he played in asked him to coach a midget-age team.

Vairo later stated that he thought the term midget referred to dwarves instead of the minor ice hockey age group for 15-year-olds.

He knew nothing of coaching at the time, and was simply instructed, "you go on the bench and organize them".

Vairo went to the library the following day to get a copy of The Hockey Handbook to find out as much as he could.

He later talked his way into attending a New York Rangers practice to learn more.

Vairo watched a match televised on Wide World of Sports between the Soviet Union national team and the Sweden national team in 1970, and was fascinated by the European style of hockey.

He wrote a letter to Anatoly Tarasov who coached the Soviets, wanting to learn more about the style of play.

Tarasov wrote back and invited Vairo to attend coaching clinic.

Vairo obtained a US$3,500 bank loan to travel to Moscow, and stayed with Tarasov's family in the summer prior to the 1972 Summit Series.

He learned new methods of workouts and training on dry land which were not practiced in North America at the time, and Tarasov's methods of motivating players.

Vairo stated, "He told me you don't coach with your feet, you coach with your heart and your brain, and you have to have leadership qualities, drive the boys, work them hard, but do everything you can to support them".

Vairo introduced European coaching concepts to the United States, and based his style on a blend of Soviet and Canadian coaching methods, and said that he "tried to mend them together to fit the culture of our people" in the United States.

Vairo returned to New York, then coached in several different age groups within the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League.

He introduced European coaching concepts for training, and put emphasis on puck control, passing and speed.

His teams had a reputation for being the fittest in the league and did not rely on fighting.

He was an advance scout for the United States gold medal team at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and was an assistant coach on the United States silver medal team at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

He has also served as head coach of the Netherlands men's team and the Italy men's team at the Ice Hockey World Championships.

Vairo has coached in professional hockey leagues in Europe, won a Serie A championship with HC Milano Saima, and served as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils.

In junior ice hockey, he won five Metropolitan Junior Hockey League championships and the New York State junior championship, and coached the Austin Mavericks to two Midwest Junior Hockey League championships and one national championship.

Vairo showed an early interest in the European style of hockey and attended a coaching clinic taught by Anatoly Tarasov of the Soviet Union national team.

Vairo introduced European coaching concepts to the United States, and based his coaching style on a blend of Soviet and Canadian coaching methods to fit the culture in America and taught teams to play with speed and not rely on fighting.

He served as coaching director of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States, and later as the director of special projects for USA Hockey.

He invited players from non-traditional hockey areas to national development camps to give an opportunity to those would not usually get a chance.

He implemented coaching education programs and published manuals and articles about coaching hockey.

He sat on the International Ice Hockey Federation coaching committee, and served as the technical coordinator of ice hockey for the Italian Ice Sports Federation.

Vairo was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for service to American hockey, the Paul Loicq Award for contributions to international hockey, and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

He served as head coach of the United States men's junior team at five IIHF World U20 Championships, and the United States men's team at four Ice Hockey World Championships and the 1984 Winter Olympics.