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Binkowski Shares His Passion for Hockey as Girls’ Assistant Coach

Rick Binkowski grew up in Watertown, where he played ice hockey throughout high school, after which he competed for a club team in college. Rick has always loved the sport and continued by playing in men’s leagues as an adult. After his children were born, Rick was excited to get on the ice in a new capacity while coaching his son Thomas’s youth hockey squad.

When Rick’s daughter Sarah was preparing for her freshman year at Guilford High School, several of her friends talked about joining the girls’ ice hockey team. As a figure skater, Sarah became interested in the idea—and so did Rick.

“I was excited for her to play. She had the skating experience and always enjoyed playing street hockey,” says Rick. “Even though she had skated, she was new to hockey and I knew there were other new players, so I reached out to the coach and asked if he needed help.”

Rick spent the latter half of Sarah’s freshman year as a volunteer assistant for Guilford last winter. Then when an official assistant coach position opened up this year, Rick was excited for the opportunity and is now in the midst of his first season in that role.

“It feels great and I’m passionate about the game and I’m passionate about teaching the game,” Rick says. “I only got into coaching because of my kids, but I love to coach. For me, it’s more about teaching the kids the game and getting them excited about it, so they can find the excitement and joy that I did.”

Indians’ Head Coach Gil Schaper says that it’s been a great help to have another coach on the ice, especially someone with Rick’s attitude and expertise.

“Rick has been a great addition to the girls’ ice hockey program,” says Schaper. “He has been around the game for so many years and has valuable experience working with developing basic skating and stick skills of beginner players. He knows when to be firm with the players, but maintains a positive approach at all times.”

Coaching any sport is a time commitment, but ice hockey tends to be an even bigger commitment. Because Guilford doesn’t have a hockey rink, the Indians’ coaches and players spend a lot of time traveling to and from their home ice rink in East Haven. Rick and his wife own a home healthcare agency in Middletown and, as the chief financial officer, Rick is able to take advantage of a flexible schedule. Rick is not only thankful for his schedule, but for his wife Christina’s support, as well.

“Having a hockey player in the family is a family commitment and, with me coaching, my wife has been shouldering a lot of the home responsibilities we usually share, so she’s been a trooper for letting us all make this happen,” said Rick, who also has two other children, 1st-grader Natasha and four-year-old Luciana. “It’s a big time commitment, as well as a financial commitment.”

The Indians are now immersed in the 2016-’17 season and, although the team has yet to notch a victory, Rick is seeing many positives from the girls on and off the ice. Rick also appreciates the support that the team receives off the ice.

“It’s a very complicated sport that requires the skills that other sports have, but then you have to do it on ice, on skates, and at 20 miles per hour, making it the fastest game on two legs,” says Rick. “We have girls who have never skated and it’s a sport that takes a long time to pick up. It’s a huge challenge for us, but having the support of the school and parents who are willing to volunteer and help out is great.”

Guilford features a mixture of veterans and new players this year. Rick notes that the Indians’ starting center is a freshman and, while their goalie was new to the position as of last year, Rick says that she’s improving every game. Overall, Rick is pleased to see the Indians performing progressively stronger as a team with each passing contest.

“We’re hanging with these teams longer and longer and seeing marked improvement from game to game, which is very encouraging,” says Rick. “Right now, we measure our success from one game to the next, one week to the next, and by watching each individual player and what they’re doing right. We emphasize the positive and make sure they keep having fun. We want to attract people to the program and grow the sport across the board. We’re excited to see where we could go in the future.”