Vancouver Whitecaps FC are mourning the loss of Barry Crocker, a long-time athletic therapist for the club and part of the 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl championship team in the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Crocker was also a valued staff member for Canada Soccer and was part of the team at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. In the past several decades he has been a dedicated coach and builder for the local soccer community.
“Barry was the type of guy that everybody loved,” remembered Bob Lenarduzzi, Whitecaps FC club liaison. “He had an infectious personality and an ability to make people laugh. I’ve been talking to many other players and staff he worked with and they all have such fond memories of him. He will be missed.”
“Barry was a big part of my life with both the Whitecaps and the Canadian national team," added Carl Valentine, Whitecaps FC club ambassador. "He was just a great man, with a great personality. He’s done so much for not only the professional game in our country, but also his work at the club and youth level. He will be greatly missed.”
Crocker grew up in Lincoln, England, was an accomplished soccer player in his youth, and served 17 years in Britain’s Royal Air Force as a physiotherapist before moving to British Columbia.
He would later serve as athletic therapist for the Whitecaps and Canada’s men’s national team, and then was involved with the Abbotsford Soccer Association in various capacities since 1990, mostly as general manager. In 2005 he was inducted into the Abbotsford Sports Hall of Fame.
In the last decade, when he moved to San Antonio Tlayacapan, he put in time
to coach kids from Ajijic to Guadalajara in Mexico
.
Whitecaps FC offer our condolences to Mr. Crocker's family and friends as we remember his immense contributions to our soccer community.
