May 28, 2025 • 30 mins
What does it take to start a new NCAA Division I women's hockey program from scratch? Coach Allison Coomey is getting that experience at Delaware, which will field a varsity team for the first time in 2025-26.
Coomey joined an offseason episode of the PodKaz with Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski of USCHO.com to discuss how she has built a staff, assembled a roster and crafted a schedule for the inaugural season.
The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.
Coomey joined an offseason episode of the PodKaz with Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski of USCHO.com to discuss how she has built a staff, assembled a roster and crafted a schedule for the inaugural season.
The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Usccho dot com. We're back with another edition of the
off Season Podcast. I'm Todd Maleski here with Nicole Hosey
from usho dot com. Our guest today is Alison Komi
from the University of Delaware, which maybe you aren't familiar
(00:25):
with unless you've paid a lot of attention to what
Nicole has written over the last you know, a year
ago and going back before that. But the University of
Delawares is getting on the ices of VRC program for
the first time in twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six,
and there's just so many fascinating things that have to
happen as part of getting a new team on the ice,
(00:49):
and Nicole are We had a really great conversation with
Alison about that, and I wonder, like, how why that
was important to you to kind of get get that
out there of what it takes to do this.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, I think, you know, the simple as answer is,
we want more women's hockey programs. And I feel like
I was lucky enough that it was reached out to
me that before Delaware was announced to like sort of
put the you know, have the exclusive and tell that
story and from the get go, the excitement from Delaware
and the sort of like they were like, well, we
have an arena on campus, so like, why wouldn't we
(01:26):
have women's hockey, And they were just very sort of
I feel like we've heard a lot about programs about
how hard it would be to add women's hockey, and
so I thought from the get go it was really
cool how much Delaware was just sort of like, well,
of course we're going to do this. It's not that
big of a deal. So that part was nice. And
then just talking to Alison for people to see sort
of the the nitty gritty of what it takes to
(01:47):
put a team on the ice, but even Alison talking,
I mean, they're obviously not to employ that there was
not a ton of hard work and all that sort
of stuff. But I think I hope that people and
administrators and stakeholders and the ones that made decisions hear
this and see that like, maybe this is a feasible
thing we can do, and that like this is what
helps women's call collegiate hockey keep growing. So I mean,
(02:09):
just from a hockey nerd perspective, it was fun for
us to get to learn a little bit of what
goes into the last year right, because she's just had
the job a little over a year, so we thought like, hey,
what what has she been doing, What does that look
like before she hits the ice, before she gets too
busy to have that conversation, And Yeah, I just I
hope that it the Delaware I hope that there's a
(02:29):
little bit of a blueprint here for for programs in
the future, because I was just really struck from the
get go from the administration about how they were sort
of like, yeah, this is a no brainer.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, from from getting players to scheduling games, getting equipment
and doing all these kinds of things, there's there's so
much that has to happen to get from the idea
and you know, yes, we're going to have a team
to actually putting players on the ice and having the
stand at the blue line for the national anthem, which
is something that Alison talked about, which you can tell
(03:02):
is something that she's really looking forward to that opening
night and getting out there to see that happen. And
I feel like that's that's such a huge moment for
any new program, and to kind of get the inside
of what it takes to get there was really interesting
for me.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Absolutely, I mean, the way she talked about it made
me wish, like, well, I want to be there when
that happened, Like I think it would be cool to
be in the building. But yeah, I agree. It's just
there's clear passion there and I think, you know, it's
just really interesting to go from that, mean I asked her,
but like sort of the hypothetical of I am starting
a program, we're starting a program to actually hitting the
ice and sort of all of the things that come
(03:40):
in between. So we really hope you enjoy this conversation.
We really appreciate Delaware and Alison partaking the time to
allow us a little bit of insight on this process.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
So, without further ado, here is our conversation with Alis
and Koumi.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Allison, thanks so much for being with us. We I,
you know, first had the story of Delaware is being
added and so now we're just wanting to come back
to you, you know, sort of on the verge of
hitting the ice and talk to you a little bit
about what it takes to build a team and so
maybe do you just want to start a little bit
(04:15):
and like where things stand for you guys right now.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Yeah, again, thanks for having us on really excited to
be back. It's it's crazy, it's a full year almost
a little bit over that since since we started, since
I got here. But we actually just finished our roster
and the last week, so we're up to twenty two players.
We feel that's a good number for for year one,
and we already have some commitments for a year two,
(04:41):
so we're we're pretty set on our next two years
in terms of our roster.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
So really excited about that. Players from all.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Over, so excited to bring you know, uh experience from
you know, some other countries and that to the program
as well. So yeah, and we just completed our staff
as well. So really, really have things have gotten moving
since since last year?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
At this time when you come in with a blank slate,
what surprises you? What has surprised you in terms of
things maybe you have had to do that you didn't
know you'd have to do to be prepared for fall
of twenty five being on the ice.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Yeah, I mean the first thing is like we don't
have anything to sell, right, Like we don't have we
don't have a record to sell to incoming players, and
so really relying on our staff's experience was a big
thing that I guess I didn't really know.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
I didn't really.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Think that that would be something that you know, it
surprised me a little bit in terms of having to
you know, having to focus in different areas to really
get recruits excited about this place. You know, coaches here
when I got the job were like, you just got
to get recruits to campus, and I think that was
a big thing for us, getting people here to see it.
(06:02):
Obviously it's not a hockey school. Uh it's new to
the hockey world, not to the club world. Our club
programs are are very strong, but getting you know, getting
recruits here with something that we really focused on.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
You know, our our athletic.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Department has done an excellent job of just preparing themselves
for in the university for for hockey, and so I
was really happy to know everything that was involved in
just like before I got hired, like communication with strength
coaches in the country, equipment managers, like how do we
(06:39):
run our day to day operations for this program? And uh,
you know that it it made me feel really confident
about where we're at and where the school's at, and
so that those are things that you know, as I
look back, really happy with how Delaware has has prepared
themselves to to add woman's ice hockey.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
They're not a hockey school yet, Right, that's the keyword.
What what was it about this opportunity that made you
want to you know, you've been in assistants for several years,
Like what was it about the opportunity here at Delaware?
Maybe some of just what you said with with how
the university was so excited about it, But what was
about this chance that that made you say, like, this
(07:22):
is this is how I want to take on this
head coaching role.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Yeah. A big thing to me is support in academics.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
You know, I've been I've been fortunate to be at
institutions that really value those two things. If you don't
have one, it's really hard to sell all of the other, right,
And so to me that that was a big part
of it. I do like the fact that it's a
little bit of a smaller not smaller school. It's a
big school, but the athletic department itself is a community
(07:51):
and I really felt like that was something we could
leverage here as well. And so those those are the
biggest things for me, Like is the education good? Can
I sell it to the international students who are going
home taking this degree home in athletics, like is it
important here? And I can say both of those things
are very important. So those are the two big things
(08:13):
for me.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Your most recent stop was a newer program. I don't
think we can call Penn State a new program anymore
because it's been long enough, but on the newer side.
So I wonder if from the experience there of building
that program, not especially from scratch, but from building it
to where we've seen it in the last couple of years,
what were you able to take out of that and
(08:35):
who can you lean on in terms of, you know,
if you need to know what you need to do
to build a program, but who are the people you
talked to to maybe get an encouraging word here or
there or some advice.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, I mean, yes, Penn State was fairly new to
a certain extent when I got there. I think there
were six years old somewhere around there, so fairly new.
Hadn't really jumped jump to that next level. It did
take us a few years to get to that point.
And you know, they're in a good spot now, but
you know, in terms of starting a program. Brian da
Rocher's one like worked for him, and you're three of
(09:12):
the program at BU, so he had he had started
it from scratch. I talked to Tara Wachhorn, who I
coached at BU and is now back at BU, but
was coaching at stone Hill and started the program there.
My former college coach started the program when I.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Played, so I was part of a new new program.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
So I have I have a lot of people to
kind of lean on and ask questions of Guy Gadowski.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
I you know, I talked to him last week, so
I'll be reaching out to.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Him as he started the program at Penn State on
the men's side. But yeah, so so many resources that
I have to lean on. Obviously it's a little bit
different now than maybe it was ten fifteen years ago,
but the same you know, the same challenges, the same excitements,
Like all of those things are are similar in terms
(10:03):
of what you're getting out of student athlete experience.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
How to ask what surprised you but maybe what would
surprise outside people about what this last year has entailed
and maybe kind of tied into that, what are I
don't want to say best and worst, but like maybe
like what's been the coolest thing of the last year,
and what's been one of the more difficult things about
doing what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Yeah, I think you know, when you're typically recruiting a
regular like recruit in a given year, you know, you're
juggling the balance of like of games and bringing recruits
in and trying to do all all of those things.
And I think the great thing about starting a program
is you have the benefit of really focusing on the
one thing that's going to be so important to your program,
(10:47):
and so spending time with parents and recruits like that
was probably my favorite thing. Really getting to know, you know,
the people that are going to come in and make
a big impression on our program from from the beginning,
and so having those conversations really you know, really getting
to know families, uh, was really important to us. The
(11:10):
weird thing was not having games, and so like I
spent a lot of my weekends if I wasn't recruiting,
just watching other college games filling the void of that.
But it was fun to see, you know, it was
fun to not have that pressure also, and like I
can just be a spectator.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
I went to I went to a few.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
College games to watch as a spectator, and it was
nice to to not feel the pressure of having to
win a game, or are the moments in the game
where you're feeling stressed.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I didn't have that.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
When we talk about differences between as an assistant coach,
you're obviously you know, you're different. You're involved in a
lot of different things than you are as a head coach.
And maybe I don't know if you can answer this yet,
but what kind of things have there been, you know,
in that in that jump for you that have made
you say, oh, let me take a step back and
see how I would handle this, you know, as an
(12:03):
assistant and how it is different how I handle it
as a head coach.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I think the biggest thing right now is just everything
kind of falls on what on me right So, like
we could have and right now, I only I have
Melissa Samit'skovitch. We've been working together all year as my assistant.
But we'll talk about things and at the end of
the day, I've got to be the one to you know,
to say yes or no or make a decision on it.
(12:32):
So that's probably the thing I feel the most now
and I'm I'm assuming that's something that will be the
same when we have a team next year. But you know,
there's a lot of decisions to make too, and so
like trying to trying to make sure I'm not I'm
thoughtful enough, but I'm not like overthinking, you know, every decision,
(12:52):
because that's that that won't help us either move forward.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
As you've mentioned, like you don't you don't have games
to take recruits to you you know, you're you're sort
of in that, so I would imagine that you're recruiting.
It becomes recruiting a bit of a character in terms
of like someone that understands the benefit of being part
of what's being built and that may like your recruit
profile may evolve, but right now, like can you tell
a little bit about like sort of what you're looking
(13:20):
for and what maybe you know, what you were seeing
to recruits and what you saw to them. That sort
of is what is building the foundation for you all,
because you're not just saying like you're a good player
and we're a good team, come to come play for us, right,
Like it's a little more complicated when you're starting.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Yeah, I mean, I I give a lot of props
to all of our our players that have committed here.
You know, they've taken a chance on something they know
nothing about, and to me that that says a lot
about them already.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
But you know, obviously we're looking for talent.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I think we've we've done a good job of finding
maybe some players that have gotten missed or developed late,
or had injuries during the time they should have been recruited,
and so we've.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Benefited from that.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
They've obviously benefited with the opportunity to play Division One.
But you know, watching watching them play, talking to coaches,
really getting a sense of their character has been has
been great too, Like just to know.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
You know when we're going to face adversity, because we will.
It's it's inevitable.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
We've got seventeen first year players, so we're going to
be playing against a lot of experience most of the time,
and so making sure that you know, we have the
right characters to be able to face that adversity. It's
not going to be perfect, and we're going to work
on it, and but I'm really excited about the group
we have to be able to.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Do that together.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
One of the other things about being a head coaches,
you're out there looking for non conference games too, and
I wonder what that's been like for you trying to
build build out that part of your schedule and how
we how challenging it has it been to get on
people's radar and say, hey, we'd love to have a
couple of games.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Yeah, you know, I've been fortunate, like I have some
really good friends in the coaching world that you know,
are excited about playing us and being a part of
our first season, and so that hasn't been as challenging
as I thought it would be.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Now looking at twenty.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Six, it's a little bit more challenging because of some
things that have shifted. But but yeah, it's been great
to I'm actually we're playing holy Cross and Kati las
Chappelle I played like played for technically she was my
assistant coaches and when I was in Niagara we worked
together for a long time at BEU, and so when
I got the job, she was like, I want to play.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I want to play you guys.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
So so we're going to play holy Cross and and yeah,
we've pretty much filled our schedule. We do have an
open weekend. I'm keeping it open because I want an
extra week for our team to develop, so we might
play one less uh one less set of games.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
One of the things in your background that I find
fascinating and I think would love to dig in more
at some point, is that you were a scout for
USA Hockey. Could you a maybe just give a real
I mean, I understand we all know what scouts are,
but what what that role was for you and how
that has informed who you are as a head coach
and your ability to to quote and recruit this first year.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, I mean, for for the most part, my role
as a scout with TMOSA was basically scouting other other teams.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
But I feel like I've learned a lot through that.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Uh you know, obviously you're watching other teams, but you're
also watching TMSA and the tendencies of those players.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
And I mean just.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Even being a part of a program like that with
the best players in the world was pretty special. But
I feel like I did learn a lot about the
game just from watching video and going over things and
seeing patterns, and it was it was great too. It
was great to interact with the team. You know, a
lot of driven players there, and I think that's something
(17:11):
that translates over to what I'm looking for. Like, obviously
that's another level of investment, but but players that are
all passionate about what they do and want to you know,
want to win and be competitive, and that's something I
you know, I feel I gravitate to that winning mentality.
So it was an It was a great experience, and
(17:33):
I did it at the eighteen level and also the
national team Olympic level. So yeah, really really cool experience
and uh, definitely cherish my time there.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
How has the you know, I don't know how much
you've been able to get into the transfer portal for
to try and bring players in for maybe you know,
people that are looking for a different kind of path
or different start and you can give that to them.
You've got a start off essentially. Does that speak to people?
(18:06):
Has that spoken to recruits? Has has that spoken to
people have gone through a college experience and and maybe said,
you know, I'd love to be part of something new.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Yeah, that's that's the interesting part, right, Like the portal
has so many players that they all want different things.
We actually got four players from the portal and we
feel like they're going to be great fits in terms
of just their character, leadership, you know, what they what
they bring on the ice, and and more importantly, what
they'll bring to us off the ice.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
And so we had to find that group.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Like, you know, there's certain players that are maybe a
you know, maybe a top line thirty point player. They
might not be looking at a place like Delaware because
it's brand new and they don't know what to expect, right,
So really trying to find find the right people to
help us build our program.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
And we feel like we've done a really good job
with that.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And again they've taken a chance again on a new
program after leaving some someplace that's that they're very comfortable with.
So yeah, we have some local a local player that's
coming back towards home and she's excited. She had mentioned,
you know, when I heard that Delaware was starting a program,
my heart was kind of set on it, and that
to me, that says a lot, you know, about her
(19:25):
and and what we're getting.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
When generally, like a team will talk about like they're
they have a motto or a sentence or a couple
of words that sort of guide this season. When you're
getting this brand new group, is that something that you
foresee sort of like setting as the tone for your
season or do you think that that will come sort
of more naturally once you have the players on the ice.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
I think part of it will come.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
You know, we talk a lot about first here, obviously
Delaware being the first state, you know, with the first
woman hockey program. So we're going to celebrate the you know,
the first goal, the first win. I think those are
the and that's a word that that resonates with all
of us because it is very it's gonna happen, It's
gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
It's gonna be a lot of firsts.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
And so with that specific word, I would say yes,
I think in terms of like what else we're going
to bring, don't have to have to let the team
figure that out.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
The you know, support from administration is critical when you're
talking about starting something new. Uh, support from people in
the community, support from people in hockey is a big thing.
Where have you felt that the most in terms of uh,
you know, if I know there was an event with
the Philadelphia Flyers at that you know kind of at
(20:40):
launch at that at some point there. How can that
help in getting this off the ground.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I mean it's huge and I think even just talking
with our club programs here and the importance of ice hockey,
like they get quite a few fans at their games
and so you know, we're hoping to piggyback off that,
to be honest, piggyback off the success of Delaware already.
But you know, the the time I felt that most
was probably to what you're speaking to. Like, the Flyers
(21:10):
did a community caravan last summer and they stopped in
all these different areas in Delaware. In our ud was
like the last spot, and they said that that was
the most attended.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
Community outreach. So that was to me, like, I mean,
it was packed. I was walking around. I'm like, I
don't even know half these people.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
But but it was really exciting to see that in
the buzz around it, and I think, uh, you know,
our marketing team was like, how can we do this again?
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Just right leading up to your game, you know, to
your first game.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
So I think that obviously being you know, pretty close
to to the Flyers organization and now being connected.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
With them, I do you think that's going to help
for sure?
Speaker 2 (21:55):
When the program was announced, they really like talked about
sort of being in this this untapped market close to Philly,
like despite the East Coast being maybe not et cetera,
but having a ton of women's hockey programs that like
Delaware like the the ability of you all to fill
in in one of the gaps. And I guess I
just wanted to ask, sort of a year on from
everybody talking about that and having that ability if you're
(22:16):
if you're really finding that and feeling like you're familiar
with your conference, you're familiar with women's hockey, Like, how
do you feel about sort of how that was, you know,
how we talked about that and have you felt that,
like you guys, you have this pocket and you're really
fulfilling you know, a need there.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Yeah, I mean you're just talking to club coaches, you know,
from the Washington Pride, the Junior Flyers, like they're they're
so excited, you know, and I and I would imagine
teams will come down or come over, come up, you know,
to what it's playing, because because we are the closest
to them, you know. I think about it now, like
(22:52):
we have employees of Delaware that live in Maryland, Pennsylvania
and New Jersey and community here every day, and so
it is a you know, there's also a lot to
live here, but like there's so much there's so many
places close to us and organizations close to us that uh,
you know when I was growing up. Cornell was the
closest to where I lived from Sarah, like just outside
(23:15):
of Syracuse, and I remember driving to go to those
games and how how much impact that had on my,
you know, my career. And obviously I'm still coaching now,
so I'm like still part of it.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
But if we can.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Create an avenue for you know, players to either play
or just love hockey more like, we want to do it.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
I think we all hope, all of us who follow
the game hope that there are more schools like Delaware
that are willing to invest in women's hockey right that
that we hope that there's more growth getting from you know,
the mid forties and somewhere over fifty teams and then
we're talking you know, some some a real pathway then
for an expanded, you know, competitive level of Division one's hockey.
(24:00):
And I wonder what, whether you is there anything that
you can think of there that you would say could
help in that in in fostering more of a an
environment where it's maybe easier for schools to say, yeah,
we can do that. Having gone through this now for
(24:21):
for a year, is there anything that you know would
have made it easier?
Speaker 4 (24:24):
I guess, yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
I mean I think about the p up in how
they you know, how they go to Detroit or where
else have they gone obviously like Seattle and Vancouver. You
know they've done those takeover tours, and you know, if
if we did something like that, how would that resonate?
You know, we take our games to maybe some schools
that don't have women's hockey and really you know, bring
(24:50):
the community to those those sites and see what happens.
Maybe it's it's definitely an exciting game to watch, and
I think that's the pro album as people just don't
really get out to watch it, and once they do,
they notice how how much fun it is. So that
would be my suggestion. But I don't know, I don't know,
(25:11):
I'm not a higher up.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
What are you? I mean, maybe it's too obvious of
a question. So maybe other than getting on the ice,
what are you most looking forward to now that you've
put in the year of building your team? You said
you know you're kind of set now you're like the
seasons on the horizon. What are you most looking forward to?
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Obviously getting everyone together, like we've had one zoom call
as a team and that was pretty special. But like, actually,
like being physically in the same place is going to
be something I look forward to. And I told the
team the one thing that I keep thinking about is
like our home opener, we'll have twenty We have twenty
two players, so everyone's everyone will dress, you know, everyone
(25:53):
will be on the line, on the blue line, and
just like that moment of just standing listening to the
national anthem and just seeing everybody in their Delaware jersey
is going to be pretty special. So that's something I'm
definitely looking forward to.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
How much of you gotten into the details of like
what the sweaters look like and what kind of you
know what you know, I know you have a color scheme,
but what what you can do within that too to
make the team brand you know, pop out a little bit.
What how much that do you get into?
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yeah, we actually the jerseys already designed. They're well on
their way to being done.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
You know.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
For us, it's like, how can we how can we
bring our logo, you know out?
Speaker 4 (26:38):
I think it's a pretty cool logo, so yeah, how
do we how do we bring that out?
Speaker 3 (26:44):
I don't want to get it. It doesn't I don't
want it to be too busy.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
I wanted to be simple, clean, just like here we are.
You know, so our equip.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Manager has done a great job of designing you know,
Samuels has great ideas as well. So I really on
the experts to kind of do that. But yeah, those
are those are things we think about for.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Sure, maybe because you don't yet and have the team there,
But have you had the moment of sort of like
because it's all a bit hypothetical at the moment, obviously
it's not you have your job, you're recruiting, but like
to go from the abstract of hey, I'm taking over
and I'm starting a program to the reality of it, Like,
have you had any of those sort of weird moments
(27:28):
or like being able to just really stop and take
it all in. I'm just curious about sort of the
It's just gonna be a little bit weird at times
to be like this hypothetical of I have a team
but not yet but we haven't started playing and all
of that bit of it.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Yeah, it's funny because I was at a tournament. I
was at Nationals actually and this year, and we were
I think two players maybe three players away from being
done with our roster at that time and I was like, wow,
this time last year, I didn't have an assistant and
I had no commits.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
So like we're going, I'm.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Going to Nationals and I'm watching you know, five of
five or six of our kids in that tournament this year,
and so to me that was like, wow, we've really
come a long way. You know, we're not there yet,
but like we're we're there. So and I think for
the players too, it was fun, you know, after the
tournament to see each other and like physically like say hi,
(28:20):
or like talk about next year. Those moments to me
are the ones that stick out. You know, the first
commit for sure, and then the last commit to be done,
so all all of those things. Yeah, I'm like, you know,
when you're in it, you're just in it, right. It's
it's just like a season if you're if you're doing well,
(28:41):
you're not even looking at looking back and seeing how
well you've done. It's like onto the next game, you know,
until until it's over. So uh yeah, I'm still still
in it.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Last one for me is if we're looking out a
year from now, next next time off season, what what
would you hope to have accomplished by by next May
or next June or sometime through the through the season,
but also through the you know, the building into how
(29:14):
you kind of move from year one and then take
that and make it better and make that everything better
kind of after that.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Yeah, I mean for us, like in year one, obviously
we want to win, we want to be competitive. We
also we also are realistic about it, and so for us,
I think making making the experience joyful for everyone, you know,
And so at the end of the year, were they
are they happy about being a part of it? Were
(29:44):
they you know, did they enjoy themselves, did they enjoy
each other? You know, did they push each other? Did
they get better? And I think those are the things
that you know, we might have to dive a little
bit into to really feel, but to me, those are
the things that are most important, especially for our momentum
going in the year two. You know, we have players
(30:05):
that can see, like the progress, then they're more hungry
for year two and so that's where that's where that's
where we want to be.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
I think that's a great note. And thank you so
much for your time. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Thanks for thanks for taking the time to.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
We're really excited to see you guys hit the ice
and so excited for you know, the continued growth of
of what you guys can do. And I think you
know it's how kind of mentioned it's great to see
a program put up, you know, adding women's hockey, adding
in an area that needed it, and hope that what
we see from you all is something we continue to
see in the future for women's college hockey. So thank
(30:44):
you for telling us all about it.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Yeah, same here, same here.
Usccho dot com. We're back with another edition of the
off Season Podcast. I'm Todd Maleski here with Nicole Hosey
from usho dot com. Our guest today is Alison Komi
from the University of Delaware, which maybe you aren't familiar
(00:25):
with unless you've paid a lot of attention to what
Nicole has written over the last you know, a year
ago and going back before that. But the University of
Delawares is getting on the ices of VRC program for
the first time in twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six,
and there's just so many fascinating things that have to
happen as part of getting a new team on the ice,
(00:49):
and Nicole are We had a really great conversation with
Alison about that, and I wonder, like, how why that
was important to you to kind of get get that
out there of what it takes to do this.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, I think, you know, the simple as answer is,
we want more women's hockey programs. And I feel like
I was lucky enough that it was reached out to
me that before Delaware was announced to like sort of
put the you know, have the exclusive and tell that
story and from the get go, the excitement from Delaware
and the sort of like they were like, well, we
have an arena on campus, so like, why wouldn't we
(01:26):
have women's hockey, And they were just very sort of
I feel like we've heard a lot about programs about
how hard it would be to add women's hockey, and
so I thought from the get go it was really
cool how much Delaware was just sort of like, well,
of course we're going to do this. It's not that
big of a deal. So that part was nice. And
then just talking to Alison for people to see sort
of the the nitty gritty of what it takes to
(01:47):
put a team on the ice, but even Alison talking,
I mean, they're obviously not to employ that there was
not a ton of hard work and all that sort
of stuff. But I think I hope that people and
administrators and stakeholders and the ones that made decisions hear
this and see that like, maybe this is a feasible
thing we can do, and that like this is what
helps women's call collegiate hockey keep growing. So I mean,
(02:09):
just from a hockey nerd perspective, it was fun for
us to get to learn a little bit of what
goes into the last year right, because she's just had
the job a little over a year, so we thought like, hey,
what what has she been doing, What does that look
like before she hits the ice, before she gets too
busy to have that conversation, And Yeah, I just I
hope that it the Delaware I hope that there's a
(02:29):
little bit of a blueprint here for for programs in
the future, because I was just really struck from the
get go from the administration about how they were sort
of like, yeah, this is a no brainer.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, from from getting players to scheduling games, getting equipment
and doing all these kinds of things, there's there's so
much that has to happen to get from the idea
and you know, yes, we're going to have a team
to actually putting players on the ice and having the
stand at the blue line for the national anthem, which
is something that Alison talked about, which you can tell
(03:02):
is something that she's really looking forward to that opening
night and getting out there to see that happen. And
I feel like that's that's such a huge moment for
any new program, and to kind of get the inside
of what it takes to get there was really interesting
for me.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Absolutely, I mean, the way she talked about it made
me wish, like, well, I want to be there when
that happened, Like I think it would be cool to
be in the building. But yeah, I agree. It's just
there's clear passion there and I think, you know, it's
just really interesting to go from that, mean I asked her,
but like sort of the hypothetical of I am starting
a program, we're starting a program to actually hitting the
ice and sort of all of the things that come
(03:40):
in between. So we really hope you enjoy this conversation.
We really appreciate Delaware and Alison partaking the time to
allow us a little bit of insight on this process.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
So, without further ado, here is our conversation with Alis
and Koumi.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Allison, thanks so much for being with us. We I,
you know, first had the story of Delaware is being
added and so now we're just wanting to come back
to you, you know, sort of on the verge of
hitting the ice and talk to you a little bit
about what it takes to build a team and so
maybe do you just want to start a little bit
(04:15):
and like where things stand for you guys right now.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Yeah, again, thanks for having us on really excited to
be back. It's it's crazy, it's a full year almost
a little bit over that since since we started, since
I got here. But we actually just finished our roster
and the last week, so we're up to twenty two players.
We feel that's a good number for for year one,
and we already have some commitments for a year two,
(04:41):
so we're we're pretty set on our next two years
in terms of our roster.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
So really excited about that. Players from all.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Over, so excited to bring you know, uh experience from
you know, some other countries and that to the program
as well. So yeah, and we just completed our staff
as well. So really, really have things have gotten moving
since since last year?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
At this time when you come in with a blank slate,
what surprises you? What has surprised you in terms of
things maybe you have had to do that you didn't
know you'd have to do to be prepared for fall
of twenty five being on the ice.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Yeah, I mean the first thing is like we don't
have anything to sell, right, Like we don't have we
don't have a record to sell to incoming players, and
so really relying on our staff's experience was a big
thing that I guess I didn't really know.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
I didn't really.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Think that that would be something that you know, it
surprised me a little bit in terms of having to
you know, having to focus in different areas to really
get recruits excited about this place. You know, coaches here
when I got the job were like, you just got
to get recruits to campus, and I think that was
a big thing for us, getting people here to see it.
(06:02):
Obviously it's not a hockey school. Uh it's new to
the hockey world, not to the club world. Our club
programs are are very strong, but getting you know, getting
recruits here with something that we really focused on.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
You know, our our athletic.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Department has done an excellent job of just preparing themselves
for in the university for for hockey, and so I
was really happy to know everything that was involved in
just like before I got hired, like communication with strength
coaches in the country, equipment managers, like how do we
(06:39):
run our day to day operations for this program? And uh,
you know that it it made me feel really confident
about where we're at and where the school's at, and
so that those are things that you know, as I
look back, really happy with how Delaware has has prepared
themselves to to add woman's ice hockey.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
They're not a hockey school yet, Right, that's the keyword.
What what was it about this opportunity that made you
want to you know, you've been in assistants for several years,
Like what was it about the opportunity here at Delaware?
Maybe some of just what you said with with how
the university was so excited about it, But what was
about this chance that that made you say, like, this
(07:22):
is this is how I want to take on this
head coaching role.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Yeah. A big thing to me is support in academics.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
You know, I've been I've been fortunate to be at
institutions that really value those two things. If you don't
have one, it's really hard to sell all of the other, right,
And so to me that that was a big part
of it. I do like the fact that it's a
little bit of a smaller not smaller school. It's a
big school, but the athletic department itself is a community
(07:51):
and I really felt like that was something we could
leverage here as well. And so those those are the
biggest things for me, Like is the education good? Can
I sell it to the international students who are going
home taking this degree home in athletics, like is it
important here? And I can say both of those things
are very important. So those are the two big things
(08:13):
for me.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Your most recent stop was a newer program. I don't
think we can call Penn State a new program anymore
because it's been long enough, but on the newer side.
So I wonder if from the experience there of building
that program, not especially from scratch, but from building it
to where we've seen it in the last couple of years,
what were you able to take out of that and
(08:35):
who can you lean on in terms of, you know,
if you need to know what you need to do
to build a program, but who are the people you
talked to to maybe get an encouraging word here or
there or some advice.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, I mean, yes, Penn State was fairly new to
a certain extent when I got there. I think there
were six years old somewhere around there, so fairly new.
Hadn't really jumped jump to that next level. It did
take us a few years to get to that point.
And you know, they're in a good spot now, but
you know, in terms of starting a program. Brian da
Rocher's one like worked for him, and you're three of
(09:12):
the program at BU, so he had he had started
it from scratch. I talked to Tara Wachhorn, who I
coached at BU and is now back at BU, but
was coaching at stone Hill and started the program there.
My former college coach started the program when I.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Played, so I was part of a new new program.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
So I have I have a lot of people to
kind of lean on and ask questions of Guy Gadowski.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
I you know, I talked to him last week, so
I'll be reaching out to.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Him as he started the program at Penn State on
the men's side. But yeah, so so many resources that
I have to lean on. Obviously it's a little bit
different now than maybe it was ten fifteen years ago,
but the same you know, the same challenges, the same excitements,
Like all of those things are are similar in terms
(10:03):
of what you're getting out of student athlete experience.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
How to ask what surprised you but maybe what would
surprise outside people about what this last year has entailed
and maybe kind of tied into that, what are I
don't want to say best and worst, but like maybe
like what's been the coolest thing of the last year,
and what's been one of the more difficult things about
doing what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Yeah, I think you know, when you're typically recruiting a
regular like recruit in a given year, you know, you're
juggling the balance of like of games and bringing recruits
in and trying to do all all of those things.
And I think the great thing about starting a program
is you have the benefit of really focusing on the
one thing that's going to be so important to your program,
(10:47):
and so spending time with parents and recruits like that
was probably my favorite thing. Really getting to know, you know,
the people that are going to come in and make
a big impression on our program from from the beginning,
and so having those conversations really you know, really getting
to know families, uh, was really important to us. The
(11:10):
weird thing was not having games, and so like I
spent a lot of my weekends if I wasn't recruiting,
just watching other college games filling the void of that.
But it was fun to see, you know, it was
fun to not have that pressure also, and like I
can just be a spectator.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
I went to I went to a few.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
College games to watch as a spectator, and it was
nice to to not feel the pressure of having to
win a game, or are the moments in the game
where you're feeling stressed.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I didn't have that.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
When we talk about differences between as an assistant coach,
you're obviously you know, you're different. You're involved in a
lot of different things than you are as a head coach.
And maybe I don't know if you can answer this yet,
but what kind of things have there been, you know,
in that in that jump for you that have made
you say, oh, let me take a step back and
see how I would handle this, you know, as an
(12:03):
assistant and how it is different how I handle it
as a head coach.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I think the biggest thing right now is just everything
kind of falls on what on me right So, like
we could have and right now, I only I have
Melissa Samit'skovitch. We've been working together all year as my assistant.
But we'll talk about things and at the end of
the day, I've got to be the one to you know,
to say yes or no or make a decision on it.
(12:32):
So that's probably the thing I feel the most now
and I'm I'm assuming that's something that will be the
same when we have a team next year. But you know,
there's a lot of decisions to make too, and so
like trying to trying to make sure I'm not I'm
thoughtful enough, but I'm not like overthinking, you know, every decision,
(12:52):
because that's that that won't help us either move forward.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
As you've mentioned, like you don't you don't have games
to take recruits to you you know, you're you're sort
of in that, so I would imagine that you're recruiting.
It becomes recruiting a bit of a character in terms
of like someone that understands the benefit of being part
of what's being built and that may like your recruit
profile may evolve, but right now, like can you tell
a little bit about like sort of what you're looking
(13:20):
for and what maybe you know, what you were seeing
to recruits and what you saw to them. That sort
of is what is building the foundation for you all,
because you're not just saying like you're a good player
and we're a good team, come to come play for us, right,
Like it's a little more complicated when you're starting.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Yeah, I mean, I I give a lot of props
to all of our our players that have committed here.
You know, they've taken a chance on something they know
nothing about, and to me that that says a lot
about them already.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
But you know, obviously we're looking for talent.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I think we've we've done a good job of finding
maybe some players that have gotten missed or developed late,
or had injuries during the time they should have been recruited,
and so we've.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Benefited from that.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
They've obviously benefited with the opportunity to play Division One.
But you know, watching watching them play, talking to coaches,
really getting a sense of their character has been has
been great too, Like just to know.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
You know when we're going to face adversity, because we will.
It's it's inevitable.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
We've got seventeen first year players, so we're going to
be playing against a lot of experience most of the time,
and so making sure that you know, we have the
right characters to be able to face that adversity. It's
not going to be perfect, and we're going to work
on it, and but I'm really excited about the group
we have to be able to.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Do that together.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
One of the other things about being a head coaches,
you're out there looking for non conference games too, and
I wonder what that's been like for you trying to
build build out that part of your schedule and how
we how challenging it has it been to get on
people's radar and say, hey, we'd love to have a
couple of games.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Yeah, you know, I've been fortunate, like I have some
really good friends in the coaching world that you know,
are excited about playing us and being a part of
our first season, and so that hasn't been as challenging
as I thought it would be.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Now looking at twenty.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Six, it's a little bit more challenging because of some
things that have shifted. But but yeah, it's been great
to I'm actually we're playing holy Cross and Kati las
Chappelle I played like played for technically she was my
assistant coaches and when I was in Niagara we worked
together for a long time at BEU, and so when
I got the job, she was like, I want to play.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I want to play you guys.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
So so we're going to play holy Cross and and yeah,
we've pretty much filled our schedule. We do have an
open weekend. I'm keeping it open because I want an
extra week for our team to develop, so we might
play one less uh one less set of games.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
One of the things in your background that I find
fascinating and I think would love to dig in more
at some point, is that you were a scout for
USA Hockey. Could you a maybe just give a real
I mean, I understand we all know what scouts are,
but what what that role was for you and how
that has informed who you are as a head coach
and your ability to to quote and recruit this first year.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, I mean, for for the most part, my role
as a scout with TMOSA was basically scouting other other teams.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
But I feel like I've learned a lot through that.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Uh you know, obviously you're watching other teams, but you're
also watching TMSA and the tendencies of those players.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
And I mean just.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Even being a part of a program like that with
the best players in the world was pretty special. But
I feel like I did learn a lot about the
game just from watching video and going over things and
seeing patterns, and it was it was great too. It
was great to interact with the team. You know, a
lot of driven players there, and I think that's something
(17:11):
that translates over to what I'm looking for. Like, obviously
that's another level of investment, but but players that are
all passionate about what they do and want to you know,
want to win and be competitive, and that's something I
you know, I feel I gravitate to that winning mentality.
So it was an It was a great experience, and
(17:33):
I did it at the eighteen level and also the
national team Olympic level. So yeah, really really cool experience
and uh, definitely cherish my time there.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
How has the you know, I don't know how much
you've been able to get into the transfer portal for
to try and bring players in for maybe you know,
people that are looking for a different kind of path
or different start and you can give that to them.
You've got a start off essentially. Does that speak to people?
(18:06):
Has that spoken to recruits? Has has that spoken to
people have gone through a college experience and and maybe said,
you know, I'd love to be part of something new.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Yeah, that's that's the interesting part, right, Like the portal
has so many players that they all want different things.
We actually got four players from the portal and we
feel like they're going to be great fits in terms
of just their character, leadership, you know, what they what
they bring on the ice, and and more importantly, what
they'll bring to us off the ice.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
And so we had to find that group.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Like, you know, there's certain players that are maybe a
you know, maybe a top line thirty point player. They
might not be looking at a place like Delaware because
it's brand new and they don't know what to expect, right,
So really trying to find find the right people to
help us build our program.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
And we feel like we've done a really good job
with that.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And again they've taken a chance again on a new
program after leaving some someplace that's that they're very comfortable with.
So yeah, we have some local a local player that's
coming back towards home and she's excited. She had mentioned,
you know, when I heard that Delaware was starting a program,
my heart was kind of set on it, and that
to me, that says a lot, you know, about her
(19:25):
and and what we're getting.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
When generally, like a team will talk about like they're
they have a motto or a sentence or a couple
of words that sort of guide this season. When you're
getting this brand new group, is that something that you
foresee sort of like setting as the tone for your
season or do you think that that will come sort
of more naturally once you have the players on the ice.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
I think part of it will come.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
You know, we talk a lot about first here, obviously
Delaware being the first state, you know, with the first
woman hockey program. So we're going to celebrate the you know,
the first goal, the first win. I think those are
the and that's a word that that resonates with all
of us because it is very it's gonna happen, It's
gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
It's gonna be a lot of firsts.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
And so with that specific word, I would say yes,
I think in terms of like what else we're going
to bring, don't have to have to let the team
figure that out.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
The you know, support from administration is critical when you're
talking about starting something new. Uh, support from people in
the community, support from people in hockey is a big thing.
Where have you felt that the most in terms of uh,
you know, if I know there was an event with
the Philadelphia Flyers at that you know kind of at
(20:40):
launch at that at some point there. How can that
help in getting this off the ground.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I mean it's huge and I think even just talking
with our club programs here and the importance of ice hockey,
like they get quite a few fans at their games
and so you know, we're hoping to piggyback off that,
to be honest, piggyback off the success of Delaware already.
But you know, the the time I felt that most
was probably to what you're speaking to. Like, the Flyers
(21:10):
did a community caravan last summer and they stopped in
all these different areas in Delaware. In our ud was
like the last spot, and they said that that was
the most attended.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
Community outreach. So that was to me, like, I mean,
it was packed. I was walking around. I'm like, I
don't even know half these people.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
But but it was really exciting to see that in
the buzz around it, and I think, uh, you know,
our marketing team was like, how can we do this again?
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Just right leading up to your game, you know, to
your first game.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
So I think that obviously being you know, pretty close
to to the Flyers organization and now being connected.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
With them, I do you think that's going to help
for sure?
Speaker 2 (21:55):
When the program was announced, they really like talked about
sort of being in this this untapped market close to Philly,
like despite the East Coast being maybe not et cetera,
but having a ton of women's hockey programs that like
Delaware like the the ability of you all to fill
in in one of the gaps. And I guess I
just wanted to ask, sort of a year on from
everybody talking about that and having that ability if you're
(22:16):
if you're really finding that and feeling like you're familiar
with your conference, you're familiar with women's hockey, Like, how
do you feel about sort of how that was, you know,
how we talked about that and have you felt that,
like you guys, you have this pocket and you're really
fulfilling you know, a need there.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Yeah, I mean you're just talking to club coaches, you know,
from the Washington Pride, the Junior Flyers, like they're they're
so excited, you know, and I and I would imagine
teams will come down or come over, come up, you know,
to what it's playing, because because we are the closest
to them, you know. I think about it now, like
(22:52):
we have employees of Delaware that live in Maryland, Pennsylvania
and New Jersey and community here every day, and so
it is a you know, there's also a lot to
live here, but like there's so much there's so many
places close to us and organizations close to us that uh,
you know when I was growing up. Cornell was the
closest to where I lived from Sarah, like just outside
(23:15):
of Syracuse, and I remember driving to go to those
games and how how much impact that had on my,
you know, my career. And obviously I'm still coaching now,
so I'm like still part of it.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
But if we can.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Create an avenue for you know, players to either play
or just love hockey more like, we want to do it.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
I think we all hope, all of us who follow
the game hope that there are more schools like Delaware
that are willing to invest in women's hockey right that
that we hope that there's more growth getting from you know,
the mid forties and somewhere over fifty teams and then
we're talking you know, some some a real pathway then
for an expanded, you know, competitive level of Division one's hockey.
(24:00):
And I wonder what, whether you is there anything that
you can think of there that you would say could
help in that in in fostering more of a an
environment where it's maybe easier for schools to say, yeah,
we can do that. Having gone through this now for
(24:21):
for a year, is there anything that you know would
have made it easier?
Speaker 4 (24:24):
I guess, yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
I mean I think about the p up in how
they you know, how they go to Detroit or where
else have they gone obviously like Seattle and Vancouver. You
know they've done those takeover tours, and you know, if
if we did something like that, how would that resonate?
You know, we take our games to maybe some schools
that don't have women's hockey and really you know, bring
(24:50):
the community to those those sites and see what happens.
Maybe it's it's definitely an exciting game to watch, and
I think that's the pro album as people just don't
really get out to watch it, and once they do,
they notice how how much fun it is. So that
would be my suggestion. But I don't know, I don't know,
(25:11):
I'm not a higher up.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
What are you? I mean, maybe it's too obvious of
a question. So maybe other than getting on the ice,
what are you most looking forward to now that you've
put in the year of building your team? You said
you know you're kind of set now you're like the
seasons on the horizon. What are you most looking forward to?
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Obviously getting everyone together, like we've had one zoom call
as a team and that was pretty special. But like, actually,
like being physically in the same place is going to
be something I look forward to. And I told the
team the one thing that I keep thinking about is
like our home opener, we'll have twenty We have twenty
two players, so everyone's everyone will dress, you know, everyone
(25:53):
will be on the line, on the blue line, and
just like that moment of just standing listening to the
national anthem and just seeing everybody in their Delaware jersey
is going to be pretty special. So that's something I'm
definitely looking forward to.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
How much of you gotten into the details of like
what the sweaters look like and what kind of you
know what you know, I know you have a color scheme,
but what what you can do within that too to
make the team brand you know, pop out a little bit.
What how much that do you get into?
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yeah, we actually the jerseys already designed. They're well on
their way to being done.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
You know.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
For us, it's like, how can we how can we
bring our logo, you know out?
Speaker 4 (26:38):
I think it's a pretty cool logo, so yeah, how
do we how do we bring that out?
Speaker 3 (26:44):
I don't want to get it. It doesn't I don't
want it to be too busy.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
I wanted to be simple, clean, just like here we are.
You know, so our equip.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Manager has done a great job of designing you know,
Samuels has great ideas as well. So I really on
the experts to kind of do that. But yeah, those
are those are things we think about for.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Sure, maybe because you don't yet and have the team there,
But have you had the moment of sort of like
because it's all a bit hypothetical at the moment, obviously
it's not you have your job, you're recruiting, but like
to go from the abstract of hey, I'm taking over
and I'm starting a program to the reality of it, Like,
have you had any of those sort of weird moments
(27:28):
or like being able to just really stop and take
it all in. I'm just curious about sort of the
It's just gonna be a little bit weird at times
to be like this hypothetical of I have a team
but not yet but we haven't started playing and all
of that bit of it.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Yeah, it's funny because I was at a tournament. I
was at Nationals actually and this year, and we were
I think two players maybe three players away from being
done with our roster at that time and I was like, wow,
this time last year, I didn't have an assistant and
I had no commits.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
So like we're going, I'm.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Going to Nationals and I'm watching you know, five of
five or six of our kids in that tournament this year,
and so to me that was like, wow, we've really
come a long way. You know, we're not there yet,
but like we're we're there. So and I think for
the players too, it was fun, you know, after the
tournament to see each other and like physically like say hi,
(28:20):
or like talk about next year. Those moments to me
are the ones that stick out. You know, the first
commit for sure, and then the last commit to be done,
so all all of those things. Yeah, I'm like, you know,
when you're in it, you're just in it, right. It's
it's just like a season if you're if you're doing well,
(28:41):
you're not even looking at looking back and seeing how
well you've done. It's like onto the next game, you know,
until until it's over. So uh yeah, I'm still still
in it.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Last one for me is if we're looking out a
year from now, next next time off season, what what
would you hope to have accomplished by by next May
or next June or sometime through the through the season,
but also through the you know, the building into how
(29:14):
you kind of move from year one and then take
that and make it better and make that everything better
kind of after that.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Yeah, I mean for us, like in year one, obviously
we want to win, we want to be competitive. We
also we also are realistic about it, and so for us,
I think making making the experience joyful for everyone, you know,
And so at the end of the year, were they
are they happy about being a part of it? Were
(29:44):
they you know, did they enjoy themselves, did they enjoy
each other? You know, did they push each other? Did
they get better? And I think those are the things
that you know, we might have to dive a little
bit into to really feel, but to me, those are
the things that are most important, especially for our momentum
going in the year two. You know, we have players
(30:05):
that can see, like the progress, then they're more hungry
for year two and so that's where that's where that's
where we want to be.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
I think that's a great note. And thank you so
much for your time. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Thanks for thanks for taking the time to.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
We're really excited to see you guys hit the ice
and so excited for you know, the continued growth of
of what you guys can do. And I think you
know it's how kind of mentioned it's great to see
a program put up, you know, adding women's hockey, adding
in an area that needed it, and hope that what
we see from you all is something we continue to
see in the future for women's college hockey. So thank
(30:44):
you for telling us all about it.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Yeah, same here, same here.
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