From his roots in Canada to the hallowed halls of Cornell University and finally to the Roaring Fork Valley, hockey has long shaped Keith Howie\u2019s life. Next, he\u2019ll look to take those experiences and share them with the Aspen High School hockey team as its next head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always really enjoyed coaching in the mountains, and especially coaching in Aspen,\u201d the 55-year-old Howie told The Aspen Times. \u201cI\u2019m the old guy on the block, but with age comes experience. I\u2019m able to bring a lot of experience. I\u2019ve seen a lot of hockey, I\u2019ve played a lot of hockey, and I\u2019ve seen it both at high levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
AHS athletic director Martha Richards recently chose Howie to replace Dru Lucchesi, who resigned to pursue a career opportunity not related to coaching. Lucchesi had been the Skiers\u2019 head coach since the 2014-15 season<\/a>; their best run came during the 2017-18 season when AHS finished 14-5-3 overall and advanced to the state quarterfinals.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted to have Keith become our varsity head coach,\u201d Richards said in a news release. \u201cHe brings a wealth of expertise and experience in coaching hockey at all levels, and will do a great job of bringing our varsity and JV teams together as an entire program.\u201d<\/p>\n Howie has been a coach in the area for nearly two decades, working primarily with the Aspen Junior Hockey program. In recent years, he\u2019s worked alongside Kirk Golden with the AJH single-A and AA girls teams, which included Howie\u2019s daughter, Charlotte, a 2020 AHS graduate. The single-A team won its third straight state championship<\/a> this past season, while the AA teams have been a consistent presence in national tournaments.<\/p>\n Along with coaching the girls, Howie has helped out with the high school program. He spent three years as a volunteer assistant under Lucchesi, focusing on game analysis, and this past season was an assistant with the junior varsity team alongside JV head coach Lindsey Holmbeck. Holmbeck and Johno McBride have already been added to the varsity coaching staff for the 2020-21 season.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing the parent, I would have loved if Charlotte had another year to play hockey and lacrosse, but she\u2019s going away next year, so the timing was good,\u201d Howie said of taking over the AHS program. Charlotte will play lacrosse at Bowdoin College<\/a> in Maine next season. \u201cI\u2019m going to put my energies into this program, so I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be coaching the girls. But you never know. I may make some surprise appearances.\u201d<\/p>\n Keith Howie grew up in Quebec and played four years of hockey at Cornell. Needing something to do as he finished up his degree after his playing eligibility ran dry, Howie jumped right into coaching. He started off as a co-coach with the men\u2019s junior varsity program at Cornell and was an assistant with the women\u2019s varsity program. He spent one season as the women\u2019s head coach, leading them to the Ivy League championship in 1990.<\/p>\n From there he left Cornell for New York City to pursue his main career path as an architect. Not long after, he found his way to the valley, where he\u2019s been since. He currently works for Poss Architecture in Aspen.<\/p>\n Howie takes over an AHS team coming off one of its worst seasons in program history in terms of record, having finished 3-11-4 overall. The Skiers still snuck into the 24-team state tournament as the No. 23 seed, losing to No. 10 Ralston Valley in the first round, 6-1.<\/p>\n AHS hockey won its lone state championship in 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might be a little bit of a rebuilding year, but I\u2019m cautiously optimistic about our talent level,\u201d said Howie, who hopes to get players on the ice this summer if coronavirus-related restrictions allow it. \u201cWe\u2019ll be a competitive team.\u201d<\/p>\n The hockey landscape will look different this coming winter as the Colorado High School Activities Association recently approved a move to split the sport into two classifications<\/a> for the first time. There will be 20 teams in Class 5A, while Aspen will be one of 17 in Class 4A<\/a>.<\/p>\n Parity had become a major issue for high school hockey over recent years, with larger programs such as Regis Jesuit, Cherry Creek, Ralston Valley and Valor Christian dominating at the state level. Since Aspen\u2019s title in 2007, those four schools alone have combined to win all but three of the state championships. Each of those programs will compete in 5A, which will open a lot of possibilities for the 4A schools to win hardware.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to even the playing field and I think it\u2019s going to be some really competitive leagues, which I think is great,\u201d Howie said of the new classifications. \u201cIf you can make the leagues more competitive and make it a better experience for everyone, it\u2019s a win-win.\u201d<\/p>\n acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/p>\n