3/30/09 USA Hockey: Feature on N.J. Colonials coach Shelley Looney

Looney has Colonials on winning track

March 30, 2009

By Aaron Bracy
Special to USAHockey.com

The only thing Shelley Looney lost at the USA Hockey Atlantic District girls’ championships was her voice.

Looney is the director of women’s hockey for the New Jersey Colonials, and her organization had an incredibly dominant run March 13-15 at Grundy Skate Center in Bristol Township, Pa.

Not only did all three of Looney’s Colonials entrants, 12-and-under, 14-U and 16-U, advance to the USA Hockey National Tournament presented by Easton and McDonald’s, April 1-5 at the ESL Sports Center in Rochester, N.Y., but they did so without losing a game.

Looney is building a program that not only aims to dominate on a district level, like it did the Atlantic this year, but at the national level, as well.

“Shelley is trying to build a strong program from the U-10 level all the way to the U-16, so I think we’re going to become a strong force,” said 16-U team member Gabie Figueroa, a first-year Colonial and native of Branchburg, N.J. “We want to become a strong force in the country, not only in this district.”

In her third year with the Colonials, Looney has focused on building the organization from the bottom up. She has doubled the number of girls’ teams from three to six, while tripling the members from 40 to 120 during her tenure. One of her first orders of business was beginning a 10-and-under team.

“I believe our success throughout the whole program is because of the numbers we’ve been able to increase with teams and players,” a hoarse but happy Looney, who coaches the 10-U and 16-U squads while not far for advice on the other four teams, said at the conclusion of districts. “Last year I started a 10-U program, which was brand-new and I had 22 girls. This year I had 33 girls.

“I believe any organization or company, you’ve got to work the pyramid so I want to grow the bottom and success continues at the top.”

Said Figueroa, “We have a lot of success as a team because we have a lot of depth compared to other teams.”

A two-time Olympian who scored the gold-medal winning goal for the U.S. in the 1998 Olympics, Looney’s credentials and credibility have girls flocking to the Colonials program.

Figueroa, who had a goal and an assist in the 16-U’s three wins in districts, transferred to the Colonials after playing with another team last year.

“I moved to the Colonials this year because of Shelley and her coaching,” Figueroa said. “Her knowledge of the game and her experience tops any other coach in this area. She could be coaching in college if she wanted to, but she wants to coach us and see us develop both as people and players.”

Looney was an assistant coach for the University of Vermont women’s team before joining the Colonials in January of 2006, and a big reason for her transition to youth hockey was to grow the sport—not only within the Colonials organization, but in the region as a whole.

“After I was done playing, I had to make a decision in which direction I would be heading,” Looney said. “I coached in college hockey and I enjoyed that, but this was an opportunity not only to coach girls hockey but to grow the sport in that area because the number of females playing was lacking, not only in our program but in the Atlantic District.”

And, so, Looney has attracted players like Lauren Vella. The Staten Island, N.Y., resident played with a boys’ team in Bayonne, N.J., up until this year. She has enjoyed the experience with the Colonials, especially playing for Looney.

“The experience and pep talks before the game, her giving advice from the national team,” Vella, who scored the lone goal in the Colonials’ 1-0 win over the Quakers in their final game of Districts, said when asked what’s the best thing about having Looney as a coach. “It’s cool to have someone that was that big a part of history for women’s hockey.”

When pressed on crediting her credentials with a reason for the program’s success, Looney instead chooses to pass on credit to the Colonials board members, the organization’s players and their parents.

“Yes, I come with different credentials but I don’t want to rely on that,” she said. “I have something to show and give to them, but every day I feel like I need to prove myself to them. It’s not what I did in the past but what I can do in the future for them.”

And what she is doing is building a program that not only is having success on the ice, but one she hopes will develop girls into winners off the ice as well.

“I think I know the game and I want to give to the girls what I know,” Looney said. “But it’s not just that. I think my whole coaching staff is good role models. We’re trying to instill not only hockey skills but life skills, commitment, teamwork, dedication, and I believe we’ve established that throughout my six teams.”

One thing Looney certainly has established is winning.

Her 16-U team went 3-0 in districts, outscoring its opponents 11-4. Ashley Dunbar led New Jersey with four points (two goals, two assists) in the three games. Niamh O’Connor and Sarah Bayersdorfer each netted two goals.

The 14-U squad was even more dominant, going 3-0 while allowing just one goal in the tournament. Ryan McCarthy paced the Colonials, who outscored their three opponents 17-1, with eight points (five goals, three assists). Hannah Beatti, Melissa Stys and Heidi Germany-Wald netted two goals apiece, with Stys and Wald each contributing a pair of assists as well.

And the 12-U squad advanced with a two-game sweep of the Quarry Cats by identical 3-0 scores, as Kendall Cornine and Emily Salerno each netted two goals and Annabel Sangree added a goal and an assist in the series.

Looney took joy in how the teams built off of one another’s success.

“We told each level, the 12s were able to close it first [Saturday],” Looney said. “I said, ‘You guys are leading the way. You can start the ball rolling today.’ And they did.

“And to the 14s [Sunday] morning, I said, ‘Now, your job is to keep the ball rolling.’ I think we have a unique situation within our club; all of our teams are tight. Many clubs don’t even intertwine with different age groups. It just shows they believe in the Colonials and it makes us stronger. So on the 16s, I said, ‘It’s your job to finish it.’ … We’re not individuals, we’re Colonials.”

Now, it’s on to nationals for the Colonials.

The prospect of going 3-for-3 in Rochester, like they did in Bristol, is unlikely. Maybe down the road, but for now Looney is happy with the steps the program is taking.

“For me personally, I’m proud about all of the teams that are going to nationals,” she said. “But what I’m most proud about is the members and the kids who continue to believe in what we’re doing.”

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

 

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