After their season ended in March, members of the girls’ ice hockey team received an email from their head coach, Tony Parisi, announcing his retirement from coaching.

Parisi coached the girls’ hockey team for seven years starting when Sophia Parisi, his daughter and Class of 2023 alumna, joined the team. Parisi played hockey for Conestoga when he was in high school and was on the team when they won the 1985 Flyers Cup. He coached the Conestoga boys’ ice hockey team from 1991 to 2000 and holds a Level 4 Coaching Certification from USA Hockey.

“I’ve always wanted to coach, like I said in my retirement letter,” Parisi said. “The things I always wanted in life were to be a husband, a father and a coach.”

Tony Parisi, along with the rest of the coaching staff and board, built the team up to have a full JV and varsity schedule. They also helped advertise and spread awareness about the team, which helped increase the team’s total to 30 players. All of their efforts ultimately resulted in the team making it to the second round of the Flyers Cup this year.

“JV is a great experience for lower level players to get so much more ice time,” junior and swing player Ava Choe said. “It’s a great

experience also for newer players to get more comfortable with other people.”

As part of his coaching philosophy, Tony Parisi emphasized how well the team members were playing relative to their past performances instead of by the scoreboards of games and league rankings.

“He was a really great coach, and every practice he was so positive and he really gave it his all at every practice,” junior and assistant captain Charlotte Friel said. “He didn’t really care if you messed up or made mistakes. It just mattered that you tried and gave 110%.”

The team expects that one of the current assistant coaches will take over the role of head coach next year. Tony Parisi plans to engage with the team by attending games, despite the fact that he will not  be a coach.

“I’m still going to go to the rink and watch some games and hopefully be a part of things,” Parisi said. “But, I felt like it was time also for some of the other coaches who have kids in the program to have more of an opportunity if they wanted it.”

Alexa Willrich can be reached at [email protected].