Spontaneity never has been a problem for Larry Cronk – especially in matters relating to hockey.

When he was approached by Canadian Lt. Col. Eric Norienous in 1977 about starting a youth tournament, he didn’t hesitate.

“I loved kids and loved the sport,” Cronk, now 72, recalled. “And I said, ‘Hey, let’s do it.'”

More than three decades later, the Presidents Day Hockey Tournament is going strong. Nearly 80 teams from 10 states and Canada traveled to Colorado Springs last week to take part in the event that concludes today.

But what has become one of the more prestigious youth hockey events in the country started with about eight area teams. The tournament didn’t really get going until 1978 when an eastern European team came to play.

“And then word just got out and it just kept growing because the hockey people heard about it and wanted in on it,” Cronk said.

The Pikes Peak Amateur Hockey Association – now the Colorado Springs Amateur Hockey Association – took over for Cronk in 1979.

But his area hockey ties go beyond the youth tournament. In 1965, while stationed at Lowry Air Force Base near Denver, a colonel asked Cronk if he had any interest in starting a hockey program at the academy.

“They said they had a volunteer coach already,” Cronk said. “I ended up being his assistant.”

That volunteer coach was Vic Heyliger, who won six national titles at Michigan before taking over at Air Force. His .524 winning percentage remains the best in academy history.

During his nine years under Heyliger, Cronk also managed the academy’s ice rink, started a youth program and coached at Air Academy.

Cronk, a native of Newberry, Mich., retired from the Air Force in 1974 and from his job with the city in 1997 but still lives in the Springs. He said he spends plenty of his free time fishing and also enjoys traveling with his wife, Tessa.

Hockey remains a fixture in his life as well. He goes to the academy once a week to perform his duties as vice chairman of the Blue Line Club, which puts on promotions and provides the players with goody bags for road trips, among other things. He attends every Falcons home game and occasionally runs the penalty box.

“I don’t miss one,” he said.

He also watches Colorado College, the Colorado Avalanche … any game involving a puck.

“And I still go to youth games,” said Cronk, who planned on attending a few at this year’s Presidents Day Tournament. “You get it in your blood, you can’t get rid of it.”

Larry Cronk Photo by