Sartell and Sauk Rapids-Rice name new coach for combined girls hockey team
Former Storm’n Sabre and Bennie defender Bre Hess has been named the girls hockey coach for the combined Sartell and Sauk Rapids-Rice varsity team.
Hess is a 2017 graduate of Sartell and has been an assistant coach and fourth-grade teacher in the district since graduating from the College of St. Benedict in 2021. She takes the position from Marty Anderson, who was coach for 14 years.
“The best thing about her is that she's able to relate with the girls. She's exceptional at building relationships,” Sartell Activities Director Bruce Thompson said. “I could tell from seeing her interact as an assistant coach that the girls really respect her. They listen to her.”
Hess has also volunteered as a coach with the youth program at the Sartell Youth Hockey Association for several years.
“As soon as I learned how to walk, I was learning how to skate,” Hess said. “I just really loved the community about hockey and how the team is also your family, living at the rink... It’s such a fun and unique sport. Ever since I started playing I just fell in love with it and when I graduated high school I was just not ready to be done with it.”
Thompson said Hess’ connections with area hockey programs and ideas to grow the sport were “exactly what we were looking for.”
“She talked about getting the youth involved and having our girls on the Storm’n Sabres be involved in youth hockey practices and bringing girls to high school hockey games, growing the game and being a positive role model. I thought that I thought that was really important,” Thompson said
Hess was a player for the Storm’n Sabres’ state consolation game in 2016, when the team lost to Lakeville South. It was the best finish in program history.
While at the College of St. Benedict, Hess saw varsity time in all four years, appearing in 71 total games, though her senior year was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After the 2019-20 season, Hess earned all-academic Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors.
Anderson said he was stepping away to spend more time with his family, though he will remain a math teacher at Sartell High School. The five-time Central Lakes Conference champion said hosting the 2018 Hockey Day Minnesota in St. Cloud was “exciting,” but he’ll remember the relationships he made with athletes the most from his career.
“Some of the games stick out, but more of the improvement and the work ethic of a lot of the girls that leads to them meeting their potential or exceeding the potential that that we thought they had, that’s probably the most satisfying part,” he said.
Hess called Anderson “a great role model” and said he would continue to be a resource for coaching questions.
“I’m just really looking forward to getting started and seeing what the program can be,” she said.
The Storm’n Sabres went 5-20 last season, last finishing above .500 in 2018-19. Hess will return the three top point scorers of the season. Sophomore Brayley VanDenBerg, junior Brooke Pogatchnik and freshman Faith Torburg combined for 40 points before losing to Moorhead in the Section 8-2A quarterfinal.
Hess said emphasizing relationships and building community is the biggest component of her coaching philosophy. Her sister, Megan Hess, will be a senior on the team this year and Bre Hess has also previously coached many of the girls expected to play for Sartell and Sauk Rapids-Rice this year. She said having a tight team that trusts each other in the coaching staff will also lead to more success on the ice.
“You have to trust that your forwards are going to be in their spot you have to trust that your D partner is going to be there, you have to trust in your goalie and trust in the system,” she said.
During the offseason Hess plans to be involved with different youth hockey camps in the area, making connections and encouraging youth ice hockey participation.
“That way when they get to high school they already know who I am,” she said.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Hess named new Storm'n Sabres coach
