Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

Wes Bolin is currently the head hockey coach at Woodbury High School where has has also been a social studies teacher for the past nine years. He has been a social studies teacher and head hockey coach for 30 years overall.

He began his teach and coaching career in Hallock, Minn., in 1983. The Bears won the Northwest Conference championship in the first two years of its existence in 1985 and 1986.

In 1986, Bolin and his family moved to Fond du Lac, Wis., where he would teach and coach for 18 years. His teams were state runner-up two times, section champions eight times, and Badgerland Conference champions seven times. His teams were also awarded the Badgerland Conference Sportsmanship Award five times. He twice served as president of the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association and, in 1995, he was named the Wisconsin High School coach of the year.

In 2004, Bolin became the head coach at Woodbury High School. Since becoming the head coach at Woodbury, the Royals won their first section championships (2007 and 2008), including the Class AA state consolation title in 2008. The Royals won or shared three consecutive Suburban East Conference titles from 2008-10. In 2007, he was named the Minnesota High School Class AA coach of the year.

Bolin has been consistently involved with in-season youth hockey programs, pre-season youth hockey camps and specialty clinics, and off-season hockey camps through his career, working with players from mites to professionals. He helped being a girls' youth and high school hockey program in Fond du Lac in the late 1990's and continues to be involved in USA Hockey development camps and coaching clinics in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is currently part of Minnesota Hockey's ADM coaching team and has also been a leader in C.H.E.C.K. (Coaches Helping Eliminate Cancer in Kids), helping to raise more than $25,000 over the past six years.

Bolin grew up at Bryn Mawr Park in Minneapolis and played high school hockey at Minneapolis West under MHCA Hall of Fame coach Jim Baxter, graduating in 1978. He played college hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, graduating in 1983, and earned a master's degree in teacher development from Marian College in 1994.

Wes has been married to his wife, Patty, for more than 30 years. They have two daughters, Heidi, and Lindsey.