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08/03/2017 12:00 AMRay Lilley recently joined the family at Daniel Hand High School as the new head coach of its girls’ ice hockey squad, and he’s ready to continue the Tigers’ run of producing successful seasons and quality student-athletes in Madison.
Ray is a Wallingford resident who played hockey at Lyman Hall before graduating in 2005, after which he competed for the Hartford Junior Wolfpack. After suffering a shoulder injury, Ray played golf at Newbury College in Massachusetts, where he earned a sports management degree. In addition to serving as an equipment manager for the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League for seven years, Ray was also a youth hockey coach at several levels of the game. This winter, Ray will rise to the high school ranks when he takes over behind the bench for the girls’ team at Hand.
“I was looking to take the next step, and I looked at the openings on the CIAC website. I put my name out there, and then followed up with an interview,” says Ray. “It’s cool to be a part of a school that has had as much athletic success as Hand. There is a lot of helping and reaching out here with athletics. It’s fun to be a part of it, and I’m looking forward to it for hopefully many years.”
Ray says that he isn’t the type of coach who motivates his players through raw emotion. Instead, he wants to make sure that every athlete feels comfortable with him on a personal level. It all comes back to working toward getting the best out of everyone, while having plenty of fun along the way.
“I won’t scream or get animated. I like to have 1-on-1 meetings with my players. I feel I’m teaching players on a team and not a team of players. I like to personalize things, because the people I’ve coached in the past have responded to that well,” Ray says. “If they work hard, play hard, and pay attention, they’ll get better and play better. It’s all about having fun and growing as a player and person. I also want to serve as a role model to them.”
Ray takes great satisfaction when he sees his athletes enjoying the sport of hockey. If the highlight of a player’s day is being on the ice, then Ray knows that he’s doing his job.
“I love having kids come up to me and express how much my coaching means to them,” Ray says. “I sometimes hear from parents that their kids can’t wait to go to the rink for practice or a game. That makes me feel like I’m doing my job well. As long as they’re having fun, I’m happy.”
Hand Athletic Director Craig Semple is geared up to see how the Tigers will shape up with Ray at the helm. Semple says that Ray displays high marks when it comes to his dedication to a team atmosphere, as well as his overall knowledge of the sport.
“Ray came to Hand with outstanding experience. Our [hiring committee] felt strongly that Ray had all the attributes we look for in a Tigers’ coach,” says Semple. “He will prepare our girls for a competitive environment, he will teach and transition our hockey players in all aspects of the game, and we will continue to create a positive experience for all our girls’ hockey players. We are very excited to see our program grow under [Ray’s] direction.”
Ray is bringing back the same assistant coaches from a team that won 11 games and qualified for the SCC Tournament last winter. However, he knows that wins and losses aren’t the only things that determine whether or not a program is successful.
“I want to build on this team’s success. They had a solid record last year. But I don’t want the girls to focus too much on their record,” says Ray. “I brought back our assistant coaches from last year in Caitlyn Bernick and Abby Blundon, and I’ll rely on them early on to help me out. I just want to try and get these girls growing and taking one step at a time, both individually and as a team.”