Andrew Will is in his 10th season as head coach at Salisbury School, the prep school tucked into the northwest corner of Connecticut.
Originally from Toronto, Will, 45, was a defenseman during his playing days, most notably for four seasons with Union College, where he was captain and ECAC Defensive Defenseman of the Year in his senior year.
After his college career ended, he signed with the Mobile Mysticks of the East Coast Hockey League, where he played for two seasons.
The following year, 1999, he joined Union's coaching staff as an assistant, where he stayed for four years. He spent one year with RPI, also as an assistant, before taking the head coaching job for Upper Canada College in Toronto, where he stayed for four years. His work there — three berths in the year-end finals — earned him the call in 2008 to Salisbury, where he's been the head coach ever since.
So far at Salisbury, Will has a 234-48-21 record, winning the 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015 New England Prep Championships, eight Housatonic League titles (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) and the 2009, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019 Flood-Marr Tournament. His team also has been an Elite Eight finalist the last two years, losing by one goal both times to Kimball Union. For his work in 2014-15, Will was named USHS All-USA Hockey Coach of the Year.
This season, the Crimson Knights are on a 14-1-1 tear, actually going undefeated in their last 15 games after starting the season with a loss to Taft.
"It’s been a really good start for us, which has been nice, especially given the high number of new players we have on our team," Will said, referring to having 14 new players this season. "I think there’s room to grow and we’ve got areas we’re working on, but we’ve been really pleased with the start to the year so far."
Coach Will recently agreed to sit on the hot seat and answer our five(-plus) questions for us. Here are his answers:
1. What is the most important character trait that you look for in a player?
So, for clarification, (traits) in a player or in a young man we’re looking to attract to the school? For me, there’s a little bit of a difference there. The most important character traits we’re really looking for are young men that are motivated and driven to excel, and honestly, contribute in all areas of school life here. We’re not interested in guys who are only interested in working hard and putting forth the best effort in being a contributor down at the rink.
Obviously, we’re looking for talented players, but there’s a lot of talented kids out there who really value and prioritize working hard and trying to be the best that they can be in all areas. And I think that is really, really important. My experience has been that for most people who are truly successful, they don’t just work hard in one area of their lives, they try to be the best they can be in all areas.
And that doesn’t mean they are equally as successful and equally as talented in all those areas, but they put forth that effort and they see the importance of that. And, for us, that also means kids that are really excited to be a part of our community as a smaller school, where so many of us are living together, that kids who really see themselves as being part of something that’s a little bit bigger than themselves and are excited to be a part of that and contribute to it.
 2. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned after all these years at Salisbury?
For me, the most valuable lesson that I’ve learned here is to never count out any of our kids. And I mean that at the team level and the individual level, that it really has been remarkable over the years how teams and kids have the potential to rise to the occasion. Their ability to bounce back from adversity and overcome obstacles, for me, that’s one of the things that stands out when you ask that question, is the resilience of kids and what they’re capable of achieving again collectively or individually, when they put their minds to it, when they buy in and work together or at that individual level have the determination and drive. I’ve learned over the years not to count anybody out.
So, for me, as a coach and I know with our staff and with our school, our goal really is to try and create an environment that allows kids to have the confidence and belief that they can achieve their goals.
3. Why would a player pick playing at a prep school over something else?
I’m a big proponent and believe strongly in prep school and all of the benefits it offers our boys, educationally, socially and on the hockey side. If you look at prep school hockey and the number of kids that are getting the opportunities to go on and play college hockey out of all the programs, and even the number of kids who have been able to play beyond college hockey, it’s pretty exciting. I think that the level of competition, the coaching within the prep school fraternity is outstanding, but also it’s a lot of the skills that the kids acquire being at these schools help them be able to be successful once they move on to higher levels.
 4. What is your aspiration in hockey, your long-term goal?
My long-term goal right now is really tied into my short-term goal, and that really is that my wife and my kids and I love being here at Salisbury and I feel fortunate that Kevin Sneddon — at the University of Vermont now — gave me an opportunity to be a college hockey coach and really begin my coaching career at Union College, and so having worked for Kevin for four years and then Dan Fridgen for a year at RPI, I feel fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to coach at that level and I loved it. It was a great experience.
But right now my goal is really to help this group of kids be the best they can be over the course of this season and this year, on and off the ice. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity at Salisbury.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities that have come along elsewhere that we’ve considered as a family, going through that process each time we’ve realized and made the decision, hey, this is the place, Salisbury is the place we want to be. So I think opportunities, if you’re fortunate to have opportunities that come along, I think that’s great and you should explore them and see if they’re the right fit for you. But we love being where we are right now and I love being here at Salisbury.
Were any of those pro opportunities?
They were not pro opportunities, they were opportunities to get back into the college game. I have not had opportunities at the pro level.
Would you consider a pro opportunity?
Certainly would consider it, yeah. I’d feel very fortunate if an opportunity at that level were presented. It’s not something that I have actively pursued, and again it has to be the right situation for our family. ... I’m trying to make a tie back to your earlier question, I don’t think it’s going to work, but one of the things I have learned over the years is ... you’ve got to explore opportunities if you’re fortunate enough to have them come along.
 5. Who’s the team to beat in prep hockey this year? (You can’t say Salisbury.)
There are a number of very strong teams this year and ... we’ve played a number of them. Obviously, Kimball Union, with the success that they’ve had, not just the last two years but consistently for the last decade or so. Dexter has a fantastic team this year, as does Lawrence. Out our way, Gunnery and Avon are two teams that are always strong, Avon is having a fantastic year this year. But having played Kent, they’re a fantastic team as well.
So, there’s a lot of time between now and February and when the playoffs come along and teams are going to continue to get better. But those would be the teams that I think based off where we are at the halfway point that everyone else is trying to reach their level.
What is it with Kimball Union and you guys? What do they have that you guys don’t have?
Listen, they are an extremely well-coached team. They’re a talented team and they’re a hardworking group, and they’ve got a lot of confidence and a lot of belief in what they’re doing and their identity as a team. They beat us twice in the championship game, and each time by one goal. Having been fortunate enough to have been in six of those championship games in my time here at Salisbury, there’s such a fine line between winning and losing, and you have to have some things go your way and obviously you have to go out and earn it, and Kimball Union has definitely done that in the two years we’ve played them in the finals. Full credit to them. We’ve been able to beat them (this year) in the Flood Marr tournament at Christmastime. It’s one of those things where you’ve got two highly competitive and motivated teams, and it’s always a lot of fun to play them and it’s always a great challenge.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at [email protected].
