Minutes earlier, as a few remaining leaves began to fall, some of the school’s 410 students walked to class.
The sun was shining and it was a beautiful late fall day on the picturesque 350-acre Middlesex School campus in Concord, Mass.
Briana Mastel grinned from ear to ear. She’s excited to be the new assistant director of admissions - and thrilled to be starting her tenure as Middlesex’s varsity girls hockey coach.
Mastel was a star prep school athlete, a three-sport captain at Choate Rosemary Hall.
A native of Wallingford, Conn., Mastel took her hockey talents to Harvard University, where she won a Beanpot championship, two Ivy League titles, and helped the Crimson earn a trip to the national championship game.
After graduating from Harvard, Mastel signed a professional contract with the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League. She played in 30 games for the Pride over the last two seasons.
Now the 27-year-old Mastel is ready for her next challenge, leading the Middlesex program after serving as a coach with the East Coast Wizards’ junior program.
Mastel recently answered 10 questions from NEHJ.
What are your expectations for your first season at the Middlesex School?
I am mostly focused on instilling in the team the value of hard work and having fun throughout the process. Whether we are practicing or playing a game, I like to emphasize consistency, teamwork, and attention to detail. After a long hiatus of not being able to compete against other schools, I anticipate the team energy to be high and can’t wait to see how the girls progress throughout the season!
How would you describe your coaching style?
I tend to be on the quieter side as a coach. You will never see me yelling on the bench unless I am cheering out of excitement. I hold my players to a high standard as competitors, teammates and individuals. I aim to coach the whole athlete. I like to joke around with the girls, talk to them about their days and how their classes and life away from the rink are going. It’s important to me to pay attention to the little details because that information helps me bring out the best in each athlete. Everyone’s needs are a little different, and knowing what those needs are, requires me to know each player beyond the surface level. When it comes to teaching the game itself, I bring attention to doing the little things well such as passing, backchecking, body positioning, communication, etc. I want the girls to think the game for themselves first, and when the time is right after they’ve made a mistake then I will walk them through where they could have been better.
How excited were you when the Middlesex School offered you the coaching position?
I was so excited to be offered the opportunity to coach at Middlesex. My four years away at boarding school were some of the most cherished years of my life and it’s a privilege to now be on the faculty side and share my wisdom and experience with the players I am coaching.
You represented the U.S. in the World Junior Championship 18 tournament during the 2011-12 season. What was that experience like?
Playing for the U-18 national team was incredible. The summer leading up to the tournament, I moved out to Minnesota to live with and train alongside four-time Olympian and gold medalist Jenny Potter. We followed a strict workout routine and she made sure we never missed a single detail. I learned a great deal from Jenny, especially what it took to compete with the best in the country. She welcomed me with open arms and pushed me like I had never been pushed before. All that said, one of the most heartwarming parts about this experience for me was sharing it with a handful of girls I had been playing with for most of my club hockey career, and other players I had met through player development camps and summer tournaments. We all had dreams of playing for Team USA and having the chance to live out that dream together will always stick with me. Having the opportunity to travel to a different country and meet and play against the best female hockey players from Canada, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Russia was the cherry on top.
Do you still think about March 22, 2015, the day Harvard fell to Minnesota for the national championship in Minneapolis?
I don’t think about this day too often - probably since we fell short - but when the game does cross my mind or people ask about the experience, I feel immense gratitude for the opportunity to play for a national championship. I remember the morning at Logan International Airport with the team and how excited we were - how proud we were for making it to the Frozen Four. I remember the line of parents outside Ridder Arena waiting to greet us when we got off the bus for our games. I remember our team bus driver Mike, who drove all the way out from Boston to Minneapolis to watch us play, wearing the Harvard jersey we had given him the year before when he told us he was retiring. I remember the atmosphere, the intensity of the crowd, and how loud the Minnesota fans were. I will always be grateful for the small details and the teammates I shared such a memorable and once-in-a-lifetime experience with.
Your college coach at Harvard, Katey Stone, recently won her 500th career game. What kind of things did you learn from coach Stone?
There are a lot of takeaways from my time playing for Harvard, especially the rich history and tradition of the program and those who have paved the way. Anyone who comes through Harvard hockey knows what it means to work hard and demand more of oneself and their teammates. “Ask more and you’ll get more” is something that coach often preached. On the ice, in the weight room, in the classroom, in relationships, in life, this lesson applies to it all.
What did it mean for you to captain Harvard your senior season?
Serving as team captain at Harvard was one of the biggest honors of my playing career. The caliber of women who go through that program, and who I had the honor of sharing the ice with, makes it more meaningful than any wins, losses, or awards. To be in that elite group of women is something that I will always feel tremendous pride in. There is no greater feeling than when those around you view you the way you view yourself.
As you begin your tenure at Middlesex School, who were some of the other mentors you’ve learned from throughout your career?
I was extremely fortunate to be coached by some tremendous people throughout my career. A few of my biggest mentors are Sarah Halsell Nutting, Hayley Moore and Liz Keady Norton. Sarah was my coach when I attended Choate, then I had Hayley and Liz while playing at Harvard. One of the common strengths shared by each of these coaches is their ability to coach the whole athlete. They are the type of coaches who know how to bring out the best in their players every single day, no matter what. They make the extra effort to get to know their players both as athletes and as people and pay attention to what makes each individual tick. I greatly benefited from their level of commitment and dedication to making me a better athlete and individual. They are all people I still look up to and keep in touch with regularly. I hope to have the same positive impact on my players as they had on me.
You played at Choate Rosemary Hall prior to Harvard. Has prep school hockey changed since your days at Choate?
I would say with each year that passes, the expectations and rigor of playing prep school hockey continue to increase. From game film to recruiting to off-ice training and various other aspects, prep school hockey is reaching the same level of competitiveness as club hockey from when I was playing at Choate. Though this adds additional responsibility for prep school coaches, I think this shift is positive because of the academic component that is prioritized while attending prep school. At the end of the day, academics should come first, but that’s not to say that a successful athletic career has to be mutually exclusive from academic excellence.
You played two seasons of professional hockey with the Boston Pride. Do you have plans to hang up the skates?
I am so grateful for my two seasons with the Boston Pride, especially our storybook ending winning the Isobel Cup last season. This year, my focus is on my players at Middlesex and teaching them the game through my experiences as a collegiate and professional athlete. I will certainly continue lacing up the skates, just in a different capacity. One never really hangs up the skates!
