Schools

Citywide Hockey Coach Ends First Season With Big Plans for Future

Former NFL players-turned-coaches looking to expand Novas program.

The Minneapolis Novas boys and girls teams may not have advanced past their section tournaments this hockey season, but the heads of Minneapolis' citywide hockey program have high hopes for the future.

According to a new profile in the Minnesota Daily, head coach Joe Dziedzic  and assistant coach Tom Chorske say they're making progress in their plan to rebuild the city's hockey program. The Novas draw from all seven city high schools because no one school has enough interested students to form a team , and the team hasn't been able to build a reputation as a competitive place to play.

“You still find families that want to live in Minneapolis — they like that quality of living,” Chorske told the U of M paper. “But then they’ll also have the means to maybe send their kids to private schools.”

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Dziedic and Chorsky's plan will take a few years to implement, the Daily reports, starting with moving the school to the more competitive Tri-Metro conference next season. For the second year in a row, the Novas finished first in the Two Rivers conference. Combined with a thriving youth hockey program, Dziedic hopes the better play will draw more students. 

“It’s not a quick fix,” Dziedzic said. “If we can make it through the next two or three years here, we’re going to turn the corner.”

Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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