As the head coach for the Arizona Hockey Union’s 10U Silver team this season, Mary Ann Barnhart is starting her first season as an official staff member with AHU.

Truth be told, Barnhart has been part of the Union in several capacities for over 15 years. She’s also been a fan of the game for more than 40 years.

Now on board in an official capacity, the Knights are reaping the benefits of Barnhart’s knowledge and personal approach to the game.

“I’ve enjoyed watching hockey since I was young, but my enthusiasm was kicked into high gear in 1993,” said Barnhart. “The Stanley Cup playoffs were awesome that year (Jeremy Roenick became my favorite player) and my husband and I watched the finals, Montreal vs. the L.A. Kings, on our honeymoon in Key West, Fla. When my older son Jordan was six and playing a T-ball game, he looked at me and asked, ‘Can I play a real sport now?’  I asked what sport he’d like to try and after some consideration he said, ‘Hockey.’ So he started Mini Mites in Chandler that fall and played half-ice Mites the next summer. The Gilbert rink was under construction during that time and when it opened in the fall of 2008, we were one of the first families to sign up. 

“I had been approached during the summer half-ice Mites games in Chandler by a coach for the AHU Polar Bears looking to add players for his Mite team. We weren’t sure about joining travel hockey so we politely declined. Just a few seasons later, AHU started the Arizona Heat travel program out of the Gilbert rink. We considered it but decided against it. Fast forward another few seasons and Jordan was playing for the AHU Knights as a Pee Wee and I was an unofficial coach for the team. Our family also had the pleasure of being a billet family for some players in the junior program. We’ve been in and around AHU for over 15 years . So when Stacy Shupe approached me about the possibility of coaching a 10U team last season, I enthusiastically told her ‘Yes.'”

After all these years, Barnhart feels as though AHU has become a second home, a second family.

“I am a development coach, and that’s my role, to get a player ready to play at the next level, whatever that may be,” explained Barnhart. “As a youth house coach, my job was to develop a player’s skill set so that they can play travel or at least ready to play the next age division. My family has also been a part of the ‘Kids First’ program, originally sponsored by USA Hockey but now run by the Gilbert rink as ‘Try Hockey For Free’ since 2009. My husband Philip is the helmet guru. He makes sure that the kids have a properly fitted helmet before getting on the ice. My sons Jordan and Aaron help me with the on-ice portion – helping kids learn to skate and use a stick. (Jordan hasn’t been able to help since 2020 when he left to join the United States Marine Corps.) I have also been a scorekeeper for hockey since 2012 and was one of only 10 scorekeepers assigned to work the Tier I and Tier II Rocky Mountain District Finals this past spring. As a scorekeeper, I can honestly say that tournaments run by AHU are run very smoothly and rarely get behind. 

“I look forward to having a long tenure with AHU and appreciate the opportunity to develop players under their program.”

Barnhart has always supported the AHU program in various ways – attending junior games and supporting that team, serving as the scorekeeper and PA person for junior games, and donating to various youth teams by purchasing fundraising merchandise or buying football squares.

In addition to the Knights, Barnhart has coached house, Lady Coyotes and high school hockey over the last 14 years. She has been coaching since 2009 with her Level 3 certification and then received her Level 4 in 2013.

Over her time in Gilbert, Barnhart said she has formed unbreakable bonds with other AHU families, something she truly relishes.

“We have so many friendships with families that would not have occurred if it weren’t for AHU,” Barnhart said. “And this year, getting to know my Squirt Silver players and parents, I know that these are families that will forever be in my heart and I’m hopeful that this team will stay together and hopefully play for a national championship as teenagers in the future.”

As a female leaving her mark on the game, Barnhart is hopeful others can follow her path. That all starts with getting involved.

“I would tell them to reach out, whether it’s to me, to their nearest rink, to any of the local hockey programs around the Valley, even the referee/scorekeeper association,” Barnhart said. “There are so many areas within the sport that can use help. If you love hockey, there’s a place for you somewhere within the sport.  It is, after all, the coolest sport on the planet.”

And with Barnhart now firmly entrenched with the Knights, the organization will continue to progress and grow rapidly into the future.

Photos/Sandra Gmelch & Rebecca Yourkanin

— Matt Mackinder

(September 12, 2024)