The Oswego State men’s club ice hockey team has a new head coach, 24-year-old Chris Timmons.
Timmons is young, but this is not his first rodeo. He has coached the Long Island Rebels and the Long Island Royals, a minor hockey team and junior club, respectively.
However, Timmons is making the transition to his older players at Oswego State.
“You don’t have to do as much talking,” Timmons said. “Some of these guys that come off the ice and make mistakes need a tap on the back rather than teaching these guys.”
Timmons is an Oswego State alumnus and played on the club team when he was a student. However, the young head coach does not let his age affect the way the team views him.
“You have to show them that you know what you’re doing and get them to buy into the system,” Timmons said. “It’s having that maturity level that they treat you older than you are. It has been tough, but I feel that I’ve gained that from the guys and we’ve been doing well so far.”
After starting 3-0, it is safe to say the team has bought into coach Timmons’ system.
“He knows the program really well, he knows how to connect with the guys, and be able to communicate pretty well with us,” team captain Brendon Wormley said.
Coach Timmons also chose his new assistant, Jordan Alhart. Alhart is also an Oswego State alumnus who was a forward on the Oswego State men’s club ice hockey team.
Having two new young coaches is definitely helping the team win games. It does not hurt to have Michael Layman and Kegan Storjohann having eight points in three games so far this year. Timmons emphasizes that hard work will be the key to winning games.
“For the most part we are a bump and grind team and with our goals we work hard and nothing is pretty,” Timmons said. “When it comes to hard work that is all that matters at the end of the day.”
The players’ hard work has paid off over the past three games, beating Villanova University, Temple University and St. Bonaventure University.
“He has really been pushing us for the first couple weeks of the season,” Wormley said. “We started out 3-0 so the season is going well so far.”
Hard work builds character and is important for any sports team.
On Oct. 1 Oswego State was able to put together a comeback to beat St. Bonaventure and win its third game 5-4 in a shootout.
“We really want to leave it out there on the ice and it has been huge for us,” Timmons said. “Especially this past weekend showed that we were down 4-1 and everyone got back in their systems and left it all out there and it ended up pulling our way with the win.”
A comeback victory shows the heart of the team and good coaching as well. The coaching change for this year’s team has gone smoothtly so far.
“I think the guys are really reacting well to him,” Wormley said. “He is going to push us, but if we work hard everything is good.”
Being able to win his first game as a coach was very important for Timmons. He currently has the line-up card framed in his office to commemorate his first collegiate-coaching win at Oswego State.
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do and to come back and coach these guys is a huge honor for me,” Timmons said. “That is just a stepping stone to show that a dream became a reality.”
After missing the playoffs a year ago, the locker room is confident in the current staff and excited to try and push into the playoffs in 2016.
“We didn’t finish the season how we wanted to,” Wormley said. “We had some unfinished business, especially in our league to take care of. I think guys are focused this year and ready to step up and get that done.”
On Oct. 8, coach Timmons and the Oswego State men’s club ice hockey team will be looking to remain perfect going for their fourth win of the season against Kent State University at the Crisafulli Ice Rink in Oswego.
