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New coach
The Woodstock Academy has hired Kat Hannah as its new girls’ ice hockey coach with plans to expand the program. Photo courtesy of The Woodstock Academy.
The Woodstock Academy has hired a new girls’ ice hockey head coach with plans to significantly grow the program.
The Academy recently added Kat Hannah to the coaching staff and she will oversee a program that Head of School Chris Sandford said could mirror the boys’ prep basketball program.
“We have seen the impact that the prep basketball program has had on the school community and the region and we’re excited to do the same thing with the girls’ ice hockey program,” Sandford said. “We’re going to leverage it in a way that brings diversity to our school and provides our local students and students from around the world additional opportunities. We’re really excited for the future.”
The girls’ ice hockey program at The Woodstock Academy is the only one of its kind in Eastern Connecticut.
It features both high school and middle school athletes and participates in the Central Massachusetts girls’ hockey league.
“The plan is to develop two teams, a Gold and a Blue, with the Blue team playing high school competition and the Gold playing a schedule more prep in nature,” said Woodstock Academy athletic director Sean Saucier.
How fast that will happen will depend on the number of athletes who come to Woodstock Academy to play the sport.
“We started the team several years ago after it was suggested to us by the late Paul Lee and we’ve seen the program grow every year. By expanding and investing in the program, we have no doubt that the program will take off,” Sandford said.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference does not sponsor the sport and there is no state tournament.
“Because it is not a sanctioned sport by the CIAC, we have the ability to be very flexible in terms of recruiting players to play on it and developing schedules that better meet the skill level of our students,” Sandford added.
Hannah last coached the Lindenwood University at Belleville (Missouri) American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I program.
The ACHA is the organizing body for collegiate club hockey teams, most of which are fully funded by schools.
She took over the program four years ago when it was in 14th place in the nation and it quickly rose through the ranks, playing for the national championship a year ago.
Then, Lindenwood announced it was closing the Belleville campus.
“It was pretty devastating, one of the hardest things I have dealt with in my life. I built that program, was really passionate about it and had wonderful relationships with the families and the kids I recruited there. This would have been my first full year with all my recruits and the school’s closing. They merged the ACHA program to the main campus and changed the whole program. The focus is going to be on the original NCAA Division I program,” Hannah said.
It opened the door for Hannah to find her way to The Woodstock Academy.
“It’s about doing your homework and figuring out the best fit for the athlete. That’s what I want to do at (Woodstock Academy). I want to build a program where we’re improving their hockey skill and getting them to where they want to get as far as college and reaching their goals but it’s so much more than that. It’s the education and getting them prepared for the next step,” Hannah said.
Collegiate women’s ice hockey is growing, according to Hannah. There are 44 NCAA Division I teams; 66 NCAA Div. III schools; 27 ACHA Div. I and 60-plus ACHA Div. II.
Many of those schools are on the East Coast.
“These girls will have a tremendous opportunity for exposure. I think if you build it the right way with the support of The Woodstock Academy, we can do some pretty fantastic things,” Hannah said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy