The native of Sommerville, Mass., came to Canada to play football at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., where he was a star running back with the X-Men. Hayes once scored seven touchdowns in one game, a feat that ranks him second in Canadian Inter-university Sport for the most touchdowns in one game. After his playing days Woody turned his focus to teaching and coaching football. He was an English teacher at Harrison Trimble and also coached the school's Trojans football team from 1968-79, guiding the club to seven provincial championships. Hayes, a member of the St Francis Xavier Hall of Fame and Moncton Sports Wall of Fame, retired from teaching in 1997 after a 29-year career, but re-joined the coaching ranks in 2005, entering the Maritime Football League as the first-ever head coach of the Riverview Mustangs (now called Moncton Mustangs). Hayes coached the Mustangs for three seasons. He led the team to a perfect 10-0 campaign and first league championship in 2007.