Girls Hockey Coming To Pope Francis Prep
May 4, 2020
Springfield, MA– Pope Francis Preparatory School announces the appointment of Chris Connors as Head Coach of their inaugural girls varsity hockey team. “Coach Connors’ experience, personality, and commitment to the game were all attractive qualities in his hiring. We are excited to offer girls hockey at Pope Francis next year and look forward to growing the program under Chris’ leadership”, stated John Goda, athletic director. Hosted by Pope Francis Prep, the program will be a co-op with Amherst, Chicopee,
Chicopee Comp, Frontier, Hopkins, Monson, Northampton, Palmer, and Pittsfield. This co-op is pending final approval by the MIAA in the coming months.
Prior to joining Pope Francis Prep, Connors was the boys varsity head coach at Saugus High School from 2005-2010 where he rebuilt the Sachems program and took them to the MIAA Division II State Tournament in 2008 & 2009 and a 2ndplace finish in the competitive Northeast Conference during those seasons. Connors also spent 9 seasons as an assistant varsity coach at Saugus High & St Mary’s of Lynn. During his time as an assistant coach, he was part of the 1999 Saugus High School DII State Championship team and an assistant at St Mary’s of Lynn on the 2001 DII Runner Up squad.
Beyond his passion for high school hockey, Connors has a vested interest in growing and promoting the game at the youth level. He currently coaches the Springfield Rangers Mite Select team and has coached various levels from Peewee to Midgets for Saugus Youth Hockey. During the day, Connors is the Director of Business Development for Testrite Visual, a sign displaying hardware company out of Hackensack NJ and has spent the past 23 years in sales. Prior to his business career, Connors attended UMass-Lowell and Saugus High School.
Connors, a native of Saugus, Mass currently resides in Agawam with his wife and 8-year-old daughter who also plays on the Springfield Rangers Mite Select hockey team. Connors shared that he is excited for the opportunity to coach at a school like Pope Francis Prep. He went on to say, “there is a deep sense of pride and a commitment to excellence that is prevalent throughout the school and in the community, which is definitely appealing to me. Our goal is to attract hard working, high character, team oriented female student athletes, and to stick with the process to take our girls program from inception and grow it into a championship program here in Massachusetts.” Connors feels he will have an amazing coaching staff in Dave Graham, Michael Zaranek, and Bryan Musa.
For more information about the Pope Francis Prep girls hockey program, please contact athletic director, John Goda at 833-999-7673, ext. 4415.