Holmes, Ian

BORN AUGUST 6TH, 1948, he started hockey in 1964 with the Monarchs in the Victorian League where, as legend has it, he and his brother were the only Australian-born players one season. He crossed briefly to the new Rangers but returned before being coaxed to the Demons in 1976. There, in Victoria's oldest ice hockey club, he recruited, coached and played with some of the best local and imported talent in the country. It was his presence that set a new standard, his demeanor that produced a second A-grade Premiership. He had several spells at the Demons, both as player and coach, and two with Hakoah (later Melbourne Jets) where he played hockey with his son in the 1995 premiership team.

He won nine A-grade premierships with Monarchs from 1967 to 1969 and 1972-73; Demons 1977; Hakoah 1980; Jets 1995; and Demons B-grade in 1988. His 427 league games are ranked 17th on the all-time list of most games played by over 3,800 Vic players since the war. His coaching was forthright and knowledgeable, his play fearless, his expectations on others high, his respect hard-earned and valued. A state representative over many years, he probably won the Goodall Cup seven times, but at least six — 1968, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978 and 1982 — and the John Nicholas Trophy, the Goodall MVP, in 1976. He played for the Oakleigh Aces in the NIHL of the early 1980s, known with a certain trepidation in 1981 as the Oakleigh Golds.

He represented Australia at the C-Pool World Championships at Grenoble in France in 1974, combining with players such as Sandy Gardner and Jim Christie. “The incomparable Ian Holmes,” recalls Paul Rice of his first coach, “talented and accomplished, he garnered respect and fear from team mates and opponents alike”. He is revered at the Demons, especially for his masterful influence on an important phase of the Club. His brother Denis also played and his son, Simon, coached Tange (U15) for Victoria, consistently winning a record number of Championships which have risen well into double-figures. In 2016, Simon said of his father: "His first lead was with actions but he was never short of words when they were needed. My coach, my mentor and my dad, RIP mate. Your gifts keep giving".

Demon's legend, Paul Rice, wrote in 2015: "A much talented and accomplished player, he garnered respect and fear from team mates and opponents alike, with equal measure, throughout his time in IHV. He had a masterful influence in a very important phase of the history of the Demons IHC in particular. His passing in the early 2000s was a very sad day indeed. Ian's mother Lois was well-known to both Victorians and interstate visitors for the Goodall Cup throughout the 1960s, '70s and early '80s. She died at her home at Benalla in country Victoria in May 2019.