USA Hockey has named Boston College coach Jerry York its 2000 National Coach of the Year.
USA Hockey was among 44 Olympic and Pan American sport federations to name their National and Developmental Coaches of the Year. Each will be honored at the fifth annual National Coaching Recognition Weekend in New York City today, where one National and one Developmental coach will be selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as Coach of the Year for 2000.
The head coach of the men’s ice hockey team at Boston College since 1994, Jerry York collected his 600th career win earlier this season, becoming only the sixth head coach to reach the milestone.
Before joining Boston College, York served as the head coach of Bowling Green State University’s men’s ice hockey team from 1979-94. Under his leadership, the Falcons made six NCAA Tournament appearances (1982, 1984, 1987-1989 and 1990), claimed four CCHA regular-season titles and one CCHA tournament title. In 1983-84, he led Bowling Green to the NCAA National Championship.
Prior to BGSU, York became the youngest head coach in the nation in 1972 at age 26 with Clarkson University. York’s experience with USA Hockey includes coaching a U.S. Select Team at the 1995 B.C. Cup in Kitamat, British Columbia.
Jack Foley, the head coach at Thayer Academy, a New England prep school, since 1988, was named the U.S. Developmental Coach of the Year. Foley has coached, among others, Tony Amonte, Mike Mottau and Jeremy Roenick.
In the five-year history of the awards, USA Hockey has placed a total of five USOC National and Developmental Coach of the Year finalists. In 1998, U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team Head Coach Ben Smith was named the USOC National Coach of the Year. Dave Peterson, the men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Coach in 1988 and 1992, was selected posthumously as the USOC Honorary Coach of the Year in 1997.
