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Coaching Staff
Thomas "Pops" Ryan, D3 HEAD COACH
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Pops Ryan is entering his second year behind the bench of the D3 Rowan Hockey program.
During his inaugural season, Coach Ryan guided the team into the second round of the playoffs. The DIII program is continuing to grow, now in its second season, and coach Ryan should have some good |
complimentary players coming in this season.
Prior to being at Rowan, coach Ryan was coaching at the College of New Jersey. He was also with the Flyers Skate Zone Pee-Wee team which he led through a 36 game unbeaten streak as well as a Grundy Cup Tournament championship.
Coach Ryan participated in his first organized hockey game 49 years ago and continued to play till he was 55 when he decided to hang up his skates to teach upcoming players. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, he played Junior and Unlimited hockey with future NHL'ers Nick Fotiu and Joe Mullen. During the 1967/1968 season he led the league in both scoring and penalty minutes. He then played at Northampton College before returning to Brooklyn.
He created a club for players in Brooklyn called the Brooklyn Nordiques which saw coach Ryan win 81 of 84 games over a four year period as well as four consecutive league championships. During the same period of time, he started the Prospect Park Youth Hockey League, a developmental program for elementary school children. He has since been involved in different areas of hockey and writes articles for different magazines and editorials. Coach Ryan is a monthly columnist for Pro Hockey News where he focuses on describing hockey's interpersonal relationships from a coache's perspective.
An advocate of 'team play', he is eager to continue the Rowan success and devolp the DIII team into a great winner. |
