Fish steps down

PALMER -- The Palmer High School hockey squad may have a new home, but now needs a new head coach.

Brian Fish, head coach of the Moose pucks program for the last six years, has stepped down from his position. With the departure of Fish, PHS is now looking for a replacement to lead Palmer hockey into a new era. This new era also includes a facility for the squad in Palmer. The new arena, located at Palmer Junior Middle School, is expected to be open by the start of the prep pucks season.

Fish cited commitment to family as reason to relinquish his duties as the Moose hockey mentor.

"It's a priority in my life," Fish said. "It's a stage of life I'm getting into."

Fish said his oldest son is starting to get more involved with hockey and he wants to be a part of that. One problem with coaching prep hockey, Fish said, is much of the schedule overlaps with the youth hockey schedules.

Also a long-time coach of the PHS girls' soccer varsity squad, Fish said he would continue with his spring coaching duties at Palmer.

"Soccer is not as bad with the schedule and the shorter season," Fish said.

PHS activities director Brandon Blake said the search for a new hockey coach is under way and the school could start interviewing candidates as early as August.

"We would like someone who will be here for the long haul and continue to build on what Brian was doing," Blake said. "Obviously that is what is important to us -- to build a competitive program."

Palmer's biggest opposition during Fish's tenure was not always the teams the Moose were facing, but the number of players in the Moose program. At times during his Palmer career, Fish and the Moose were unable to form a junior varsity program and skate more than two lines in a varsity game. In recent years, Fish was able to build a nucleus of young talent and began to not only increase the numbers on the roster, but put more checks in the win column and compete for higher seeds in the region tournament.

Fish said the opening of a rink in Palmer will create new opportunities for the Moose hockey squad. He said working with the youth programs and getting kids interested in the sport before reaching the high school level will be pivotal to the success of the next PHS head coach.

Blake said people have expressed interest in the position, but no formal applications have come across his desk. Ideally, Blake said, he would like to hire someone already at PHS, but that is not a requirement.

"We would like someone in the building, but that doesn't always happen," Blake said.

Fish, an employee of MTA, said the time constraints of working outside the building were difficult, even though his employer was understanding.

"MTA did a tremendous job working with me," Fish said.

Blake is also looking for a new head coach for the PHS swimming team. Former head swimming coach Tim Lundt also resigned.