Coach’s Corner: Boys’ Ice Hockey

Courtesy of Linkedin

By  ARYAN AGARWAL, JILLIAN CHENG and KEVIN THANT

It’s December and the beginning of the 2024 hockey season. As the air chills down the halls of the athletic complex, scrapes against ice echo through the concrete halls. Here, on the ice rink, is where the boy’s ice hockey team practices daily. In the midst of clashing hockey sticks and flying pucks is Coach Brandon Hew, alert and ready to bark instructions. 

Hew is a math instructor at the Academy and was most recently appointed as interim head coach for the varsity boy’s hockey team. 

Hew began his hockey career as a youth. “I’m from California,” he said. “I grew up playing [there], and at the time, all my friends were playing baseball or basketball or soccer, and I just wanted to try something different.” He eventually tried roller skating, which led him to ice skating where he discovered his love for ice hockey. 

In college, he decided to play Division One hockey for Amherst College as he made his way east. Even during his college days, Hew experienced a taste of coaching at college camps, and following the end of his college career, he continued with the sport. This year marks his 12th year of coaching. 

However, Hew’s rise to the helm of the Varsity Ice Hockey team was unconventional. After eight years of being an assistant coach, he became the interim head coach after his predecessor, Coach Mitt,  decided to step away from hockey temporarily. 

“I appreciate that for the most part, the players were patient with it and we have other challenges and things that we work through as a team, regardless of who coaches,” Hew said.

As a coach, Hew ensures that he has goals set out for the season. He affirmed, “The goal from a high-level view is to be competitive. We certainly want a good win-loss record that will help us get to the playoffs.” Still, he knows that there is more to the team than what happens on the ice. He added, “I think that at the end of the day, we want to help kids develop both individually and also learn how to work as a team to be successful, record-wise. They should become successful teammates and players.”

The work began before the school year even started. He noted, “We started to try to build some of the team components over the summer. We have players who are interested in hockey join meetings to start building a cohesive team dynamic, ”he continued, “That kind of carried throughout the fall and we certainly hope to do it during the season.”

Regarding team-building through these meetings, Hew explained that “this was the first year that we did it, mainly because we had a really large group of new players. We were trying to get people acquainted with the program itself with three optional Zoom meetings. That then continued with in-person meetings throughout the fall. They also have their off-season workouts, too.”

When asked about his role and philosophy as a coach, Hew believes that “in terms of coming in to lead a group, you try to keep them focused on achieving your goals or the group’s goals. From my perspective, I’m trying to help give kids opportunities to contribute as much as possible. In that process, we’re able to navigate obstacles and challenges that come with growing as individuals and as a team.”

But he recognized that these challenges could not only be addressed by him as a coach. “One of the team goals is to empower the players to have a dynamic in which they can navigate challenges within themselves. They shouldn’t solely rely on the coach, but they can also lean on the leadership, like the captains or seniors on a team.” 

Hew pointed out a particular moment in a tournament where they played against Brunswick. “I thought for a majority of the game, they did not play up to their potential, but they ended up coming back the next day and playing a pretty strong game against another competitive team in Frederick Gunn. I think overnight, they were able to kind of reset themselves and ultimately, play well.”

He also emphasized the team’s resilience. “Hockey in particular is learning how to bounce back from adversity or learning how to bounce back from a bad shift and, helping these kids respond the right way is an important lesson that they’ve demonstrated pretty well.”

Since December, Hew has stepped down as coach with a new coach taking his position.

“I am excited to see how the group performs and finishes the remainder of the season under the new head coach, Coach Ferriero,” he added.

The boy’s hockey team is currently sitting on a record of 6-6-1, and despite Hew stepping down as head coach with a new successor, everyone on the team will be sure to demonstrate the values he instilled in the program.