About Coach Chic
The seeds for New England Hockey Institute sprouted in 1976, when Dennis Chighisola attempted to fill what he thought was a growing need in the region, these being skill oriented training sessions that included game-related skating, puckhandling, passing and shooting. The popularity of those early sessions grew such that Dennis ultimately expanded and operated some of the most successful hockey schools in the Northeast, with locations in MA, RI and PA. (Numerous former and current NHL-ers have been among Coach Chic’s students.)
In 1979, Coach Chighisola studied at the Institute for Sport and Physical Culture in Moscow of the old Soviet Union. And, as you’ll discover within the pages of CoachChic.com, that eye-opening experience still influences the way he teaches today.
Coach Chic possesses a BS Degree in Physical Education & Coaching, with a Minor in Instructional Media. And he holds USA Hockey’s highest certification as a Level 5 – Master Coach.
From the earliest days until present, Dennis has also head coached every level of amateur hockey — Mites through Juniors, he spent 3-years as a high school head coach, another 7-years as a college head coach, and ended that chapter in his life with several minor league professional coaching/GM interviews. In more recent years, he coaches teams under the New England Hockey banner.
Coach Chic still teaches beginners, and he’s worked with numerous pro players, which makes for a very interesting study. For, he firmly believes that working back and forth between the two extremes helps him gain greater insight into the way early training ultimately influences the older player — for the better and for the worse.
Through the years, he has attended coaching seminars all over the hockey world, and he’s also been a popular guest speaker, especially in the area of individual skills analysis.
Dennis has for many years penned advise columns for “Hockey/USA” and “PureHockey” magazines, he frequently fields questions for BetterHockey.com, and he’s authored several hockey training manuals.
He also hosts a popular on-line radio show, Coach Chic’s Hockey Secrets.
Through the years, Coach Chic has invented a number of training aids — including the Skater’s Rhythm-bar, all of these used in-house, or within New England Hockey Institute programs.
Please see Coach Chic’s Local Programs for information on special training, teams and clinics offered in the MA and RI areas.
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