Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Coaching Staff Announced for 2008-09 U.S. Women's National Program
April 22, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey today announced plans for the U.S. Women's National Program during the 2008-09 season. The United States will be represented by five teams and a total of 10 coaches in five international events.
Team USA will participate in the same five international events as it did in 2007-08, including the Under-18 and Under-22 Series, the Four Nations Cup and the pair of International Ice Hockey Federation tournaments - the IIHF World Women's Championship and the IIHF World Women's U18 Championship. The two Under-18 events were new to the U.S. program last year.
"Our program is continuing to move in a positive direction," said Michele Amidon, director of women's hockey operations for USA Hockey. "Our three successful head coaches from last season return in new lead roles for next year, while we've added some other extremely experienced individuals to our staff. These 10 coaches will aide us in our quest to train and compete at the highest possible level as we approach the 2010 Olympics."
Katey Stone (Arlington, Mass.), head women's ice hockey coach at Harvard University, will serve as head coach of the U.S. Women's Select Team that will compete in the Four Nations Cup (Nov. 4-9 - Lake Placid, N.Y.). Joining her as assistant coaches will be Brad Frost (Cottage Grove, Minn.), head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota, along with Dave Flint (Merrimack, N.H.), head women's ice hockey coach at Saint Anselm College.
Stone served as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team that won the first-ever IIHF World Women's U18 Championship in January 2008, and also led the U.S. Women's Under-18 Team at the 2007 Under-18 Series and the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team at the 2006 Under-22 Series. Meanwhile, Frost served under Stone as an assistant coach at the 2006 Under-22 Series; and Flint was the goaltending consultant for the entire U.S. Women's National Program in 2007-08, a role he will maintain in 2008-09.
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The U.S. Women's Under-18 Select Team will host Canada in the Under-18 Series from August 20-23 in Lake Placid, N.Y., while the U.S. Women's Under-18 National Team will convene in early January for the world championship (site and dates, TBA). Mark Johnson (Madison, Wis.), head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin, will serve as head coach of the Under-18 teams, with Katie King (South Boston, Mass.), head women's ice hockey coach at Boston College, and Jeff Giesen (St. Cloud, Minn.), head women's ice hockey coach at St. Cloud State University, as assistant coaches.
Johnson was the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2007 IIHF World Women's Championship, then headed up the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team last season. King served as an assistant coach at the 2006 Under-22 Series.
Finally, USA Hockey will also assemble a U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team for the annual three-game Under-22 Series with Canada, to take place in Canada (site TBA), from August 20-23. Jackie Barto (Lewis Center, Ohio), who guided the U.S. Women's National Team to the gold medal at the 2008 IIHF World Women's Championship, will serve as head coach of the Under-22 Team. Her assistant coaches will be Jaime Totten (Mansfield Center, Conn.), assistant women's ice hockey coach at the University of Connecticut, and Steve Sertich (Bemidji, Minn.), head women's ice hockey coach at Bemidji State University.
In addition to the nine aforementioned coaches, Teena Murray (Louisville, Ky.), the director of sport performance at the University of Louisville, will remain in her role as the strength and conditioning coach for the U.S. Women's National Program for a third straight season. Further, Ben Smith (Gloucester, Mass.) will continue to serve as USA Hockey's national team advisor.
Beyond the five international events for Team USA during the 2008-09 season, USA Hockey will conduct its Women's National Festival from August 12-23 in Lake Placid, which will include teams at the Over-22, Under-22 and Under-18 levels, plus all 10 coaches. The Festival players at the Under-18 level will be chosen from the USA Hockey Girls' Select Camps throughout the summer, while the Under-22 players will be picked from a new Under-22 camp that will run from June 24-July 1, in Lake Placid, N.Y.
USA Hockey will also conduct the Women's Holiday Camp from Dec. 26-Jan. 1, in Blaine, Minn., as well as training camps prior to the Four Nations Cup from Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Blaine, and the IIHF World Women's Championship from March 25-31 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
NOTES: USA Hockey will host its second Women's National Performance Evaluation Camp, a six-day off-ice session at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., from June 9-14 ... The coaching staff for the 2009 IIHF World Women's Championship will be announced early next year. The same staff will lead the 2010 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team ... Katie King played for the U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team in 1998, 2002 and 2006, capturing a gold, a silver and a bronze medal, while Mark Johnson competed as a member of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team and Steve Sertich was a member of the 1976 Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team ... Jeff Giesen is a USA Hockey Level 5 certified coach, while Brad Frost, Johnson, Katey Stone, and Jaime Trotten are USA Hockey Level 4 certified coaches. 2008-09 U.S. Women's National Program Schedule
Dates Event Site
June 9-14: Women's National Performance Evaluation Camp Colorado Springs, Colo.
June 24-July 1: Under-22 Camp Lake Placid, N.Y.
Aug. 12-23: Women's National Festival Lake Placid, N.Y.
Aug. 20-23: Under-18 Series Lake Placid, N.Y.
Aug. 20-23: Under-22 Series Canada TBA
Oct. 29-Nov. 1: Training Camp Blaine, Minn.
Nov. 4-9: Four Nations Cup Lake Placid, N.Y.
Dec. 26-Jan. 1: Holiday Camp Blaine, Minn.
Jan. TBA: IIHF World Women's U18 Championship TBA
March 25-31: Pre-World Women's Championship Camp Colorado Springs, Colo.
April 4-12: IIHF World Women's Championship Hameenlinna, Finland