It featured a heckuva peak.

But his time as vice-president and general manager of the Coquitlam junior A Adanacs also had its share of valleys - although few on the lacrosse floor.

Ken Wood walked away from his post as boxla boss last month with a tinge of disappointment, despite being part of the 46-yearold club's only Minto Cup championship run.

Out of pocket but not out of sorts, Wood told The NOW that the hardest part about running the 46-year-old franchise were the off-the-floor issues.

After turning over the reins of the organization to James Abbott and Garrett Ungaro, who assumed some debt along with the club, Wood said his stint with the club cost him a lot of money personally. But he expected that going in.

"You go into something like this to give something back -a place where kids can play at the highest level, and to win," said Wood. "I knew going in that this would be an expensive hobby."

Some of the disappointments came through the process of making tough decisions, like relieving Dan Perreault of the coaching duties following the 2009 season. It cost him more than a few friendships along the way.

While memories from the 2010 Minto Cup run remain relatively fresh and unmarred by last year's loss in the final, the behind-the scenes deal making, breaking and machinations are still a sore point for the Coquitlam resident.

A disagreement with Coquitlam Minor Lacrosse over practice time created tension prior to the start of the 2011 season - made worse by the city's decision to apply what Wood considered inequitable and dated regulations. Wood and team president Rocky Zimmerman went public with the dispute, threatening to sell the franchise to the highest bidder.

Perhaps the sorest point came from how the team was treated after the 2010 season by some city officials whom Wood had previously enjoyed amiable and even friendly relationships with.

"I've worked with a lot of good people and we managed to accomplish what the lacrosse program had never done before, but that was never acknowledged by the people at city hall," said Wood.

He said the tenor of the relationship between the club and city management changed around the time the refurbished Poirier Street arena was completed.

Despite the hardships caused with the construction of the Chimo Pool and the new recreation and curling rinks, the junior Adanacs organization found things even tougher when all the construction was completed.

In the past, Wood said the city was accommodating in regards to how and when the club paid the previous year's floor rental bill.

As a non-profit organization, it depended upon sponsorship and ticket sales to generate much of its cash flow.

In the weeks approaching the 2011 season, however, he said the city demanded the team pay the season's $15,000 floor rental bill in advance, or be locked out.

"They were not flexible at all." Wood attempted to get some form of explanation for the change but said he was rebuffed. Wood said Mayor Richard Stewart, whom he knew as a volunteer from past election campaigns, didn't return his calls.

"I gave the nomination speech for (Stewart), I put in a lot of work for him and helped him and I thought he could have explained this to me," said Wood.

When all is said and done, the whole experience was still enriching and worth doing.

"We're proud of what we accomplished, for the boys, the team and the city. That championship will be something they will tell their children."

sports@thenownews.com