Coaches Profiles


Joe Gotfryd, varsity hockey head coach, was born and raised here in Chicago and has firsthand experience and knowledge of the deep tradition of the Chicago Catholic Hockey League (CCHL). He also knows the great sports history at St. Ignatius College Prep. He played for St. Rita H.S. during the 1971-1975 seasons. During this senior year the Mustangs were Kennedy Cup champions, defeating the Fenwick Friars. Joe also took home honors of being the leading scorer in the CCHL that year.

Keeping with the Chicago hockey tradition, Joe moved on to The University of Illinois, Chicago Circle campus to play Division II hockey for who were then called the Chikas. In his freshman year he set a school goal scoring record by netting 29 goals. In his senior year the team went to the NCAA Division II national tournament at Merrimack College in North Andover, MA where they finished third in the nation. After college, Joe played for the Chicago Cardinals of the Continental Hockey League. The team took home the Walmer Cup as the league’s champion in 1984.

Joe’s coaching career began in 1986 when he went back to his old stomping grounds, St. Rita, to coach the junior varsity team. After 6 years at St. Rita, Joe moved to the Huskies Hockey Club where he coached their Peewee team for 2 years. Most recently, he was back at St. Rita assisting with the Junior Varsity team during the 2007-08 season.

Since 1991, Joe has been a member of the coaching staff for the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association / Stan Mikita Hockey School for the Hearing Impaired. This rewarding experience lead him to Sundsvall, Sweden, where was assistant coach for the bronze medal winning U.S.A. deaf hockey squad that competed in the Winter Deaflympics. He also holds a level 4 coaching card.

Steve Smart, varsity assistant coach, played junior hockey for the Peoria Junior Blades. In the winter of 1980 he led his team to the Junior C Nationals in Niagara Falls, New York. As a senior in high school he also played for the Peoria Blades senior men’s team, as well as his high school team and has his level 2 card.

Steve attended the University of Illinois at Chicago (1980-1984) where he was a member of the inaugural Division I Flames hockey team which competed in the CCHA. After completing his education, he began a successful business career in the automotive aftermarket. Coach Smart is also very active in the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Chicago were he is on the board of the Alumni Association and spends time advising students and guest lecturing.

After several years as a Special Olympics track and field coach, Coach Smart’s coaching career has centered around coaching his children, for their hockey, baseball, and soccer teams over the past 12 years. Currently he is still active in the Naperville Soccer Association soccer program which focuses on developing club players for college soccer.