For nearly five decades, as of 2023, no name has been more synonymous with the Carson Graham Secondary School football program than Larry Donohoe. Particularly on the coaching side, his years of connection with the program have made him the longest-serving non-teaching coach in the history of the North Shore Secondary School’s Athletics Association.
The list of Donohoe’s accomplishments with the program are plentiful, but among the highlights include serving as their varsity programs head coach in 1988, being co-head coach of their 1993 AA provincial championship team, being the assistant coach of their AAA provincial championship team, being the defensive coordinator of their 2015 AA provincial championship team, and being the assistant coach of their 2021 coastal (provincial) championship team.
Donohoe also coached Carson Graham’s junior varsity program from 2000 to 2006 and, at one point or another, coordinated offense, defense and special teams for both their junior varsity and varsity level teams. In fact, throughout all his time, the only position group he hasn’t coached with the school was the offensive line.
Beyond just coaching, Donohoe has played a big role in shaping both the direction and the overall success of Carson Graham’s football program and of football programs in general on the North Shore. He co-founded and has served as the coordinator of the annual Carson Graham versus Handsworth rivalry game known as the Buchanan Bowl since 1987, the second-longest high school rivalry game after the Archbishop’s Cup (Notre Dame vs. Vancouver College). He is president of the James Buchanan Memorial Scholarship Fund, which awards two academic scholarships to a player from each of the Carson Graham and Handsworth, respectively, worth $1000 each.
Donohoe has also coordinated Carson Graham’s fundraising efforts since 2005, and served as the staff sponsor for the Argyle Pipers football program from 2016-2018 at which time he was also concurrently coaching at Carson Graham.
Outside of his football involvement on the North Shore, he has also been involved in provincial efforts serving as assistant coach at Senior Bowl for two years, assistant coach at the Western Canada All-Star Football Camp for two years, on the executive of the BC Secondary Schools Football Association as a member at large for 12 years, and coordinated the Subway Bowl BC High School Football All-Star Banquet during the first five years of its existence. He has also worked on the CFL on TSN broadcasts for BC Lions home games.
