Colony coach moves from the mat to the rink

PALMER — When former Colony High School head wrestling coach Fred McKenney stepped down from his position earlier this year after leading the Knights to three state grappling titles during his five years with the program, the longtime wrestling mentor said he was interested in finding a new challenge.

Well, McKenney has found one. And he doesn’t even have to leave Colony High.

McKenney will just be heading from the wrestling mat to the hockey rink where he is now the head coach of the Colony varsity hockey program.

“As it turns out, he’s got a hockey background,” Colony activities director Mike Boyd said earlier this year of McKenney, who replaces Dan Belanger as the CHS head coach. “No doubt he can coach.”

While McKenney, who led a successful wrestling program at Kotzebue High School before making the move to Colony, is most know in Alaska for his work with wrestlers, he also spent plenty of time on the ice as a youth.

“I played hockey from the third grade until I was a senior in high school,” said McKenney, who was a multi-sport high school athlete in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Although he has been away from the game for a while, McKenney said he’s looking forward to getting back into his skates and onto the ice.

“I haven’t skated in a while, but it’s like riding a bike,” McKenney said. “It comes back real quick.”

Regardless, McKenney said, when it comes to coaching, it doesn’t matter if he’s on the mat on at the rink.

“Coaching is coaching,” said McKenney, who has also coached volleyball in the past.

McKenney has also added a pair of coaches to his staff who are very familiar with Colony athletics. Former Colony hockey head coach Dale Mattson will be his assistant, and former CHS head football coach Randy Manger will help with the off-ice training, McKenney said.

“That’s three head coaches,” McKenney said.

Colony struggled through a difficult 2008-09 campaign, but McKenney said he’s excited about the potential of his squad. Among the veterans returning to lead the team in 2009-2010 are Lance Nezaticky, Trevor Nickerson and Kyle Miller.

When McKenney was given the reigns of the Colony wrestling program in 2004, the Knights grapplers were facing struggles of their own.

That season, the Knights could barely break double-digits on the roster. It took only two seasons for McKenney to turn the Knights into an Alaska power. Colony won its first state title in 2006 and posted the three-peat with another crown last December.

Now McKenney will focus on turning the hockey program around.

“I love hockey,” McKenney said. “It’s a great sport and it was a real big part of my life at one time. I’m happy to get back in it.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.