Meet Our Hockey Director
Ryan Hitchcock
Hockey Director
Playing Background
Ryan grew up playing youth hockey in Butte, Montana before leaving home to continue his hockey career .
From there, his playing career included:
- Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Boarding High School in Saskatchewan, Canada)
- Midget AAA hockey in Los Angeles
- Junior B hockey in Montana
- Junior A hockey in the NAHL with the Wichita Falls Wildcats
- NCAA Division III hockey at Marian University
- And a brief stint playing minor professional hockey w/ experience at the AA, and A level.
Coaching Background
Ryan has coached for more than 14 years across several different levels of youth hockey.
He first began coaching with EYHA, including a stint coaching Bantam A that culminated in a state championship. He later coached with the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals and Brookfield Stars High School before eventually returning to EYHA with his kids.
Since returning to EYHA, Ryan has been heavily involved with the younger levels of the organization, including 6U, 8U, Learn to Play, and Learn to Skate programming.
Why Hockey Director?
I’ve never been the best hockey player or the smartest coach in every room. But I’ve been around a lot of hockey.
Between playing and coaching, I’ve been part of organizations at almost every level all across North America.
I think that variety is one of the biggest things I bring to this position.
I’ve had the opportunity to see how a lot of different hockey organizations are run. I’ve seen things that work really well and things that don’t. I’ve played for and coached alongside a lot of different personalities and philosophies, and I’ve tried to take something from all of them.
My goal isn’t to turn EYHA into one of those organizations. It’s to take the best ideas and experiences I’ve picked up along the way and use them to make EYHA better at being EYHA.
That means creating consistency in how we develop players, supporting and developing our coaches, and building an environment where kids improve, compete, have fun, and are proud to wear the Elmbrook jersey.
-Level 4 USA Hockey Coaching Certification