HYANNIS, Mass. - For the second time in less than a month, one of Barnstable's own is coming home.
Tim Grace was named the new head coach of Barnstable High School's boys varsity hockey team on Tuesday.
He takes over for Scott Nickerson, who retired after nine seasons at the helm.
Grace is the second Barnstable alum to be named head coach in the last three weeks - and the second former captain to return to the school which paved the way for their success. Former Red Raiders standout Mike Kennedy was hired as the boys varsity basketball coach on April 28.
Grace graduated from Barnstable High School in 2003. He played on the varsity for three seasons and was captain his senior year. Grace did a post-graduate year at Kimball Union Academy before heading to Curry College, where he starred for four seasons.
Grace has worked with the New England Hurricanes travel hockey program over the last eight seasons and has coached the Bantam U14 team for the last five years. He also was an assistant coach on the Red Raiders staff from 2007-2010.
Grace owns a small landscaping business in Centerville, and despite having to deal with snow plowing, which in a winter like 2015 can take up a little time, says he is committed on maintaining and building a program that has won at least a piece of the Old Colony League title the last five years.
"I think when I played you were proud to be a Red Raider," said Grace, who like Kennedy wants to build a connection with the youth programs. "When I read the article (on Kennedy's hiring), I thought, 'Wow, we're preaching the same philosophy.'
"Growing up, the high school players were always at practices helping out. You want to have kind of a feeder program and build those skills at that level."
"We feel like he has some great qualities that match up with our philosophy and our mission about educational athletics," said Barnstable athletic director Scott Thomas. "He's really on board with the academic piece of being a student-athlete. He's got a lot of energy and he's played for some great coaches."
Grace played under coach John Danby for three seasons at Barnstable. Danby is one of the founders of the New England Hurricanes program and is its director of player development.
"He's into the developmental piece and improving the skill level of younger players," Thomas said. "First and foremost, there are a lot of very knowledgeable people out there in all sports. Having someone who is truly an educator and who can teach the game and exemplify the values of Barnstable High School is really important to us."
Grace is no stranger to success, on the ice or behind the rink. Grace led the Red Raiders in scoring two straight seasons and scored four goals in Barnstable's tournament win over Duxbury his senior year. His U14 team features some of the best talent on Cape Cod and competes in the Mass Premier League.
"You love to shoot high and one of the goals is making the states," said Grace. "A good amount of players I've coached in the past are at Barnstable and I'm familiar with them. I want to meet with them and get them on the same page. It's important for them to get to know me and building the trust between player and coach." (Story Courtesy of Paul Godfrey, Cape Cod Times)
