Brand Closen to Retire after 37 Years at Western Reserve Academy
Program to shut down after 29 varsity seasons, Four Baron Cups
In 1994, Brand Closen skated onto the ice as the head coach of the Western Reserve Academy (WRA) varsity ice hockey team for the first time. When the Pioneers complete their efforts in the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League’s Baron Cup this week, he will depart the ice for the final time as the academy’s varsity coach.
Closen, a native of Irondequoit, New York, will have coached in over 680 WRA varsity contests at the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign.
Prior to his nearly three decades of varsity coaching at WRA, Closen guided the club hockey team at the school for six seasons.
During those 29 seasons of varsity action, Closen’s teams skated against the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Riders in 28 games, and it was that familiar opponent that honored the retiring teacher and coach prior to the Rough Riders final home game of the season at Kent State University Ice Arena last week.
Roosevelt head coach Brad Edwards, who received his first opportunity to join a varsity coaching staff with Closen in 2002, wanted to honor the coach in the arena in which Closen spent most of his coaching career.
“I was looking to get into coaching and really wanted to get into coaching high school hockey,” recalled Edwards while discussing his initial coaching opportunity. “Brand took me in, and it was a pretty good opportunity for me. He’s a great guy and really am thankful that he was able to take an opportunity to take a shot on me.”
“From the very beginning he valued my opinion, and I was really appreciative of that,” acknowledged. Edwards. “That was probably the biggest lesson I learned from him; to trust your assistant coaches and value their feedback.”
The recognition event was a bit of a homecoming for Closen as his team was required to find new “home ice” when the university’s leadership made the decision to limit the availability of the ice arena to fewer high school teams.
“I think it was important (to honor him at Kent State Ice Arena) because they played their careers at Kent, and I felt like the Kent community and that arena is where he spent the majority of his time. I felt like he needed some recognition in that arena for all his accomplishments. It was the least I could do for him being my mentor and give him a little bit of recognition in the arena where he coached so many games,” explained Edwards.
THE WRA EXPERIENCE
Closen and Kent Roosevelt head coach Brad Edwards
“The school is a boarding school and there are very few boarding schools in Ohio.” explained Closen. “For hockey, it really makes for an eclectic group. What I mean by that is that…my kids haven’t seen each other, haven’t played with each other (prior to attending WRA), some of them have played at a very high level.”
“Because this is our gym class-we don’t have gym class here so (students) have to participate in sports to satisfy the state requirement for gym-I have had kids on my team that have never really played hockey before. It’s a real mix. It is a very different high school group.”
Closen held teaching positions at St. Joseph Academy (Cleveland) and the Cleveland Public Schools prior to accepting a position at WRA and shared his perspective on participation in high school sports.
“Bottom line, none of my kids, and really, none of the kids in Northeast Ohio who are playing high school hockey are going to be pro. This isn’t a career decision. If this is a high school sport it should be fun. I have always tried to make the team a fun experience, a positive experience.” expressed Closen.
Closen continued, “For adolescents there is a real benefit of being a part of a team. I think that is one of the big strengths of high school sports. It allows kids to understand what it means to be part of a team, to work together, to collaborate. Those are life skills they will take forward.”
“Bottom line, none of my kids, and really, none of the kids in Northeast Ohio who are playing high school hockey are going to be pro. This isn’t a career decision. If this is a high school sport it should be fun. I have always tried to make the team a fun experience, a positive experience.” --- Brand Closen.
Barb and Brand Closen
As a player, Closen always enjoyed playing the game and realized that giving back was a part of hockey culture.
“I always did it (coaching) because I loved working with the kids. I love being around the kids. I hope that I influenced them positively. I’d like to think I am making a difference in kids’ lives and that is where my enjoyment came from. To be honest, wins and loses don’t mean that much to me.”
As a result of the boarding school environment, and several staff members living on the campus in Hudson, Closen, and other faculty members become, as Closen described, “more than just their teacher, you become their ‘parent’.”
“You spend more time with them, and I think that is why I think I lasted so long here at the school. It is a really different teaching environment. This is a consuming place once the school year starts. It is 24/7. I was the Dean of Students at this school for 20 years. I look back on my career and say I helped raise 1400 kids. Hopefully, I did ok,” offered Closen.
Clearly, Closen did better than OK.
BLUELINE NOTES:
--Prior to the 2022-23 season, WRA captured four Baron Cups during Closen’s tenure.
--Closen is retiring after 37 years of service at WRA.
--The Roosevelt staff presented Closen a TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver as a retirement gift.
--Closen confirmed that WRA is dropping the hockey program at the conclusion of the current season.
You can follow Jim Smith on Twitter @BlueLineNotes
