Oly is the head coach of Vipiteno-Sterzing in the Italian Serie A-2, and former Asst AD/Assc Coach at Manhattanville College (NCAA). For over 20 years Oly has instructed 1000’s of youth hockey players and has worked with various hockey associations, including: 1.EHCW, WSV, BHA, NCWC, DYHA, MFYHA, MYHA. Oly is a graduate of the Canadian Junior and University system and a one-time European pro hockey player. Oly holds a Bachelor of Education and a Masters of Arts from Manhattanville University.

Interview with Coach Hicks (August 2005)

Question:  Thanks for talking to DP Hockey Oly, it must be busy this time of year at Manhattanville?

Answer:  No problem Dave.  It is a busy time with our hockey program as we ramp up to the start of the season.

Question:  Tell me about the scouting process you use to recruit potential players for Manhattanville?  What kind of athletic qualities are you looking for when you scout a player for NCAA hockey?  (examples:  height, weight, agility, conditioning, speed, etc.)

Answer:  We look at a players height first, followed closely by speed and fitness for our program.

Question:  Do you like to interview players you scout to play for Manhattanville, or do the numbers speak for themselves? 

Answer:  At Manhattanville we always interview each of our prospect players and often several times.  This carries a lot of weight as we are able to determine many things from these interviews. 

Question:  Do you talk to previous coaches to find out what the player is like before sign him play for your program?

Answer:  A coaches input plays the largest role in our recruiting.  

Question:  How important is the academic side of a hockey player? 

Answer:  VERY IMPORTANT!  To even get in to Manhattanville our average SAT score is just over 1100.  Therefore players must do the work in high school to even get in the door with our program.  This is just how it is in most of the Universities these days.  

Question:  Should a player use strength training before they play at Manhattanville such as in the junior ranks or is this important?

Answer:  This is very important.  We are finding now that guys who are "fat" in the junior ranks are getting less and less interest from our program.  Players have to see themselves as athletes before college and work hard before we even consider them. 

Question:  What type of player do you like to work with?  (example:  a motivated player, strong work ethic, highly coach-able, etc.)

Answer:  First the player must have a strong work ethic.  Second they have to be coach-able and open to criticism.  

Question:  When you bring in a new recruit to Manhattanville what type of strength and conditioning program do you use to bring that person up to speed?

Answer:  Our strength and conditioning coach uses a lot of Olympic lifts which is very similar to your programs (Coach Pollitt's) from 2002.  Our main focus is to make our players strong at the bodyweight they play best at. 

Question:  When do you send the offseason training program out to the players?  

Answer:  Upon acceptance to Manhattanville.  Sometimes we send this out during the recruiting if it will help the player with training direction. 

Question:  How often do you practice at Manhattanville? 

Answer:  We practice 5 times a week during the season. 

Question:  What can a player expect?  (example:  high tempo, long practices, plenty of skating, intervals, lots of drills, focusing on the fundamentals, etc.).

Answer:  Practices tend to be longer with lots of teaching (fundamentals, drills, skills and conditioning).

Question:  Do the coaching staff look at video of games and practices with the players, and if so, what do you look for and coach players on?

Answer:  We do look at videos of games.  Mostly we look for ways to improve the systems (forecheck, powerplay and penalty kill).

Question:  How many games do you play a year at Manhattanville and what is your travel schedule like?

Answer:  We play 30 games a year (more if we make the playoffs and such). 

Question:  What is your average travel schedule like? 

Answer:  Not too bad, usually we have trips with 5 to 8 nights in hotels with bus rides of 4 to 6 hours.

Question:  Does Manhattanville provide any nutritional supplements for their players like most D-1 colleges? 

Answer:  No, we don't provide anything like that.

Question:  When a student graduates from Manhattanville what opportunities do they have to play professional hockey and are they ready for that level?

Answer:  There are certainly opportunities to play somewhere.  Our best seniors can and will play in the minor professional leagues.  Over the past 3 seasons we have had one player each year move on to the next level.  In 2005-06 we should have 5 to 6 players move on. 

Question:  What do you think is the most important things that a junior hockey player can work on to make it to the NCAA level and perhaps even to the pros?

Answer:  Number one is to work on your academic standards.  Second is skating ability (speed and agility) are most important.  Third players should improve over-all conditioning.  Usually poor conditioning is a symptom of other commitment problems.

David Pollitt:  Thanks Oly for your time.  We look forward to seeing more of your advice and work here on DP Hockey!

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