ST. MARY’S HIGH SCHOOL
Inaugural season ‘a huge success’ for St. Mary’s program By Matt Mackinder
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his time a year ago, the new hockey program at St. Mary’s High School had yet to take the ice in Stockton. A year later, and the Rams finished their first season gaining valuable experience in the NAHL Prep League and the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League According to St. Mary’s assistant coach Zac Lytle, the 2018-19 season was 100 percent positive. “I think our first season was a huge success,” Lytle said. “We played really high-level competition, especially in the North American League’s Prep division. It was very fast hockey that a lot of our kids had never seen before, but they handled it very well. I don’t remember any negatives. We had some logistical challenges that we overcame and that we will learn from to make next year more seamless.” Lytle is already planning on building on Season 1 for Season 2 this coming fall. “For starters, we’re improving our off-ice training – workouts will be more dialed-in this year,” Lytle said. “We’re adding more video instruction and classroom instruction. Sometimes, it takes a season to figure out what you need and now that we have, there are some very good parts coming for next year. Season 1 was about building a culture of expectation and trying to develop patterns and behaviors that made people meet those expectations day after day. We have a number of very good recruits coming in next season,
and now we have a core group from this year that will were great people and a great organization, but St. be leaders to show the incoming players what’s ex- Mary’s with Derek I knew was another step beyond. pected, how things are done and how we prepare for Just like the players that come to play, we’re all trying the hockey. to get better at what we do. I’m trying to improve as a “More importantly, they can show these new stu- coach and who better to learn from than Derek?” Looking ahead to next season, Lytle admitted to dents the school side of things as far as workload and how to manage their time to get assignments done having certain expectations. “We want to surround ourand makeup tests taken care of selves with goal-oriented, driv– the things that we had to learn en, competitive people, and I the hard way the first season.” believe this next season will be Working with Derek Eisler, a real jumping-off point for us the Rams’ head coach, has been an absolute pleasure for Lytle. and having a team full of those “Derek is extremely genertypes,” Lytle said. “When you do have those types of people, ous, which might surprise peothere’s no ceiling to your sucple that don’t know him well,” cess, so we could have a chamsaid Lytle. “He is always willing pionship-caliber season laying to share his knowledge with anyright in front of us.” one that is willing to learn. WorkDown the line, Lytle sees St. ing with Derek is a day-to-day Mary’s being a very sustainable study on program building. Every player is a moving piece to the St. Mary’s High School assistant coach Zac Lytle is program in Northern California. “Being part of a school with bigger picture of the program already putting ideas in place and starting to help and every day, he coaches indi- prepare for the Rams’ 2019-20 season in Stockton. such a long history of academic vidual players within a structure that makes the team success helps,” said Lytle. “Derek has connections at better. He coaches the team to push the program and every developmental level across North America. Our the school farther and it’s pretty cool to see how it all schedule is competitive from start to finish. We praccomes together. tice and train every day. If a high school-age player has “I came to St. Mary’s because of Derek. I coached the goal of playing NCAA Division I hockey, we can with Bellarmine Prep for three years prior to that. They give you every opportunity to reach your goal.”
SaintMarysHighSchool.org
Huntington Beach native Zapata decides on NCAA D-III Utica By Matt Mackinder
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fter three years with the NAHL’s Austin Bruins, Dante Zapata is heading to college. Last month, the Huntington Beach native and talented forward committed to attend and play NCAA Division III hockey this fall at Utica College. Utica plays in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference and is located in Utica, N.Y. “Our assistant spotted Dante immediately at the September showcase,” said Utica head coach Gary Heenan. “We have a specific need for size and smarts through the middle. Dante certainly has that. After speaking with Austin head coach Steve Howard and getting to know Dante in the recruiting process, it became clear that he was a leader with tremendous character. We look forward to introducing Dante to the No. 1 fan base in Division III hockey.” Zapata is tied for sixth all-time in regular-season games played for the Bruins with 154. During the 2018-19 season, Zapata was an assistant captain and finished fourth in team scoring with 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists). “Dante played in Austin for three years and he consistently got better each year,” said Howard. “He was one of our leaders and his play mirrored that. We thank Dante for spending his entire junior career in Austin and we are excited to follow his career at Utica College.” “I’m thankful to the Austin Bruins – it was a great three-year run,” added Zapata. “I’ve grown as a player and as a leader over the past three years. I am looking forward to furthering my education and playing hockey at Utica College.” Zapata compiled 74 points (23 goals, 51 assists) during the regular season with the Bruins. During his first season, he totaled 11 total points (five goals, six assists) and followed that up with 27 points (four goals, 23 assists) last year. In 2018-19, Zapata had his best season offensively. He also scored two goals in the playoffs as the Bruins were eliminated by the eventual Robertson Cup champion Aberdeen Wings in the first round.
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California Rubber Hockey Magazine