South Kent School hires new hockey coach

KENT — South Kent School has hired Eric Soltys as the head coach for the school’s varsity ice hockey team.

Soltys, who has 10 years of coaching experience behind him, most recently was the head coach of the Huntsville Havoc of the Southern Professional Hockey League.

Before that he was an assistant coach for the New Mexico Scorpions of the Central Hockey League.

He has also served as an assistant coach for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the University of Maine’s hockey team.

“I grew up in Needham, Mass., so as I grew up I watched lots of hockey on television and I became a big fan right away,� Soltys said. “Of course, I’m probably the only Massachusetts guy who was rooting for Montreal. That was partially because of my French-Canadian background.�

Having previously coached at a Division One college and at the professional level, Soltys said he more than welcomes the challenge of coaching a prep school team.

“I see the hunger and desire of kids to win, something that you don’t see at a higher level,� Soltys said. “When you play at a higher level, sometimes you lose the love of the game a little bit. It’s great to see the desire of the kids to win.�

As for his strategy for winning, Soltys said it is not about whether the offense or defense is good, it’s about the whole team being good.

“Winning is a team concept, not a concept of whether or not one or two players are good,� Soltys said. “You are only as good as your weakest link. You don’t demand your offense or defense to be good, you demand your whole team to be reliable.�

The team will play its home opener against Brunswick School Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 3:30 p.m.

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