ACHA News
2008-2009 Men's Division 3 Coach-of-the-Year
Nate Van Niejenhuis, Dordt College
The 2009 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 3 Coach-of-the-Year Award, presented by Harrow Sports, goes to Nate van Niejenhuis of Dordt College. This is the first Men's Division 3 Coach-of-the-Year Award for Nate.
Nate will be presented his ACHA Men's Division 3 Coach-of-the-Year Award at the American Hockey Coaches Association Coach-of-the-Year Celebration on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club.
Nate van Niejenhuis has been a part of the Dordt College Blades hockey program as a player or coach since 1997. Following graduation van Niejenhuis served as an assistant coach for the Blades in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, and has served as the team's head coach since the 2005-2006 season, for a total of 12 years with the program, 6 as a coach. He is assisted by former Dordt Blade player and teammate Adam Jeninga (2 years), and Bill Elgersma (1 year).
With van Niejenhuis as head coach, the Blades advanced to their first ever American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament in 2008 and a record of 23-10-0-1. For the Blades this was the pinnacle of a 39-year history that began in 1968. This was followed up with a second National Tournament appearance in 2009, a 5th place finish, and an overall record of 24-4-1-2. The 2008-2009 season also includes both the regular season and tournament championship for the North Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
In his 4 years as head coach, van Niejenhuis has been instrumental in bringing the Dordt program into legitimacy. Beyond the game and the classroom, his players are also heavily involved in coaching local youth hockey programs, as well as being Big Brothers and tutors to several of the area youth; van Niejenhuis encourages his players to continue giving back to the game.
van Niejenhuis also established the North Central Collegiate Hockey Association in 2008, and serves as its Commissioner, working to bring together the geographically diverse Pacific region. In doing so he established a league which enables consistent competition between teams in the central region of the US which otherwise did not regularly compete. This has assisted in Pacific regional rankings, and has also contributed to legitimizing operations in the Pacific region as a whole.
He was the third van Niejenhuis to serve the Blades as a captain during his playing career, earning his state of Iowa coaching endorsement while a student at Dordt College, along with his Bachelors degree in Recreation Leadership. Upon graduation he was involved in coaching youth hockey, has earned his Level IV USA Hockey coaching certification, and is working towards Level V in the summer of 2009.
In his full time position, van Niejenhuis serves as the All Seasons Center Facilities Director in Sioux Center, IA; he is married with two young sons.
Past Winners of the ACHA Men’s Division 3 Coach-of-the-Year Award:
2008-2009 |
Nate van Niejenhuis |
Dordt College |
2007-2008 |
Chris Van Timmeren |
Hope College |
2006-2007 |
Chris Van Timmeren |
Hope College |
2005-2006 |
Mike Vezina |
Northwood University |
*Article taken from the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) website March. 23, 2009 Article originally posted 2009-03-23
