Sometimes in hockey, it’s not the most talented team that wins.
Tim LeRoy witnessed that from the Groton School bench this year. An assistant coach to Bill Riley on the boys hockey team, he saw a Zebras team with zero Division 1-committed players win 20 games and reach the semifinals of the Piatelli/Simmons (small school) tournament.
“We had guys that came together, played well and had a great chemistry,” said LeRoy.
It’s a blueprint he’ll follow in his next role.
LeRoy, who spent seven seasons as the Groton boys assistant, and six years before that coaching boys hockey at Cardigan Mountain School, has been named the new Groton girls coach, taking over for Randi Dumont.
LeRoy played for Joe Marsh (Lynn, Mass.) at St. Lawrence, and counts both him and former assistant coach Chris Wells — now the women’s coach at St. Lawrence — as influences. So too Robbie Barker (Concord, N.H.), who headed the staff at Cardigan Mountain before moving on to Lawrence Academy.
There’s certainly room to grow at Groton, which posted a record of 4-17 last winter as young players continued to get acclimated to the competitive ISL. While the league’s power programs like Noble & Greenough and Tabor annually send players on to Division 1, Groton (zero current college commits) fights an uphill battle on the ice.
“The ISL is one of the best leagues in New England,” said LeRoy. “Teams like Nobles and Tabor, their depth is tough to match up with and compete against.”
But there is optimism, said LeRoy, behind returning players like senior forward Emily Polis, senior defenseman Maddy Son and freshman defenseman Keira Ley.
Joining the program and expected to make an impact are junior forward Grace Crowley, freshmen Veronika Hadamovsky (goalie) and Lulu Jerrett (forward/defense), and eighth-grader Dani Shyjan (forward).
There also will be a new assistant coach in Jacqueline Diffley (Burlington, Mass.), who was a four-year player at St. Lawrence under Wells.
“She knows the prep and club world very well, having played for the (East Coast) Wizards, BB&N and (Phillips) Andover,” said LeRoy. “She's going to help tremendously with her knowledge and passion for the game.”
Riley said he was “thrilled” to see LeRoy get the girls job but added that it was bittersweet.
“I knew there was no better candidate out there,” said Riley. “He’s been integrated in the community for seven years now. He knows the girls and knows the program. He did such a great job with us; I’m thrilled for him but it’s bittersweet losing him.
“I gave him a lot of responsibilities, allowed him to run the power play and penalty kill. I relied on him quite a bit with skill development and running portions of the practice, for sure.”
A father of two daughters, ages 2½ and 1, LeRoy felt he was in a good position, life-wise, to take on head coaching responsibilities for the first time.
At Groton, a boarding school of about 400 students located in Groton, Mass., he serves as director of the Student Activities Committee, teaches in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department, is a dorm head and a coach in other sports. His wife, Kristen, heads the Math and Computer Science Department and also coaches.
In short, he knows the girls — and the challenge.
“One of the selling factors was that this was a great group of girls,” said LeRoy. “There are no seniors graduating. I feel I’ve learned a lot from Billy and the other coaches I’ve worked with. It’s different on the girls side but I’m excited to jump in.”
@MikeZhe603
mzhe@hockeyjournal.com
