Mark and his brother Bill, after varsity practice at Boston College

It’s not very often that we see coach Mark Switaj off the ice.  He’s a power skating machine, spending four straight hours on the ice every Thursday at Saddle & Cycle. However, in early January we found him sitting at the Winter Casino with Hockey Director Mick Pyznarksi, and Coaches Rick Block and Keith Tracy.  We took that opportunity to learn more about the man who makes our program have such strong skaters. Needless to say, speaking with Mark was enlightening (and a little awe-inspiring).

Mark, one of four hockey playing brothers who grew up in Ohio, was the team captain at Boston College where he was the recipient of the Walter Brown Award, an award given annually to New England’s best American-born D1 college hockey player. Sound impressive?  It should.  He shares that award with Hockey Hall of Famers Joe Mullen, Brian Leetch and Chris Drury.

Mark has been teaching coaches around the country how to bring power skating in to their program for decades. He has coached at every level of minor hockey and has instructed at programs close to home like the Mission and 200x85. EveryThursday he spends four hours bringing the best out of our skaters.