Meet the Faculty: Bill Ward
By Suzanne Morrissey
Bill Ward arrived at Brewster in 2023 with extensive experience in teaching, admissions, college placement, dorm life, and coaching. A hockey coach for more than 25 years at the prep, junior, and collegiate levels, he has helped develop and place dozens of players in NCAA Division I and III programs, with several advancing to National Teams and Olympic competition. Notably, four of his former players have competed in the Winter Olympics, including Thomas Vanek (Austria, 2014), Kali Flanagan (USA gold, 2018), Denisa Krizova (Czech Republic, 2022), and Savannah Harmon (USA silver, 2022). Many former players have gone on to coach, play professionally, or thrive in other fields. Mr. Ward is a Community Living Parent in Vaughan Dorm, and we caught up with this plant- and animal-loving dad of five mid-summer.
Q. Where were you born and raised?
A. Born in Ohio, but grew up in Belvidere, Illinois.
Q. You graduated from Iowa State and won accolades as the captain of the hockey team there, being named the 1994 ACHA National Player of the Year and helping your team win the ACHA Division 1 National Championship in 1992…and even being inducted into the Iowa State University Hockey Hall of Fame! What are your best memories of going to school in Iowa and being a part of that team?
A. Some of my best memories of playing hockey at Iowa State were definitely winning that National Championship in 1992, getting the chance to play against the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL in Hilton Coliseum, and being named to the All-Tournament Team at a tournament in Harbin, China.
Q. As a member of the mathematics faculty here at Brewster, how do you help spark or encourage a student who says “I’m really bad at math”?
A. I typically respond with “I can understand and appreciate why you feel that way and I hope you are able to develop a positive outlook with a growth mindset.” As a math teacher and hockey coach, I encourage students and players to make mistakes. I strongly believe we all become more successful by making mistakes. We just need to learn from them.
Q. What has made you most proud or happy in your work?
A. I have loved seeing students who, after initially struggling and having little confidence in math, begin to shine and even work at an accelerated level within the first few months of joining Brewster. I also like to point out and show students there are multiple ways to solve problems. I encourage students to show the class their preferred methods, especially if we didn’t demonstrate it.
Q. Let’s talk ice hockey! You’re heading into your third year as the Head Coach of the Girls’ Varsity Hockey Team. When did you first love the sport?
A. I started playing hockey at the age of 4 and have been in love with the sport ever since. The sport has allowed me to travel much of the United States and Canada as well as Europe and Asia.
Q. What is your philosophy of coaching the Girls’ Varsity team and what skills are you working to improve?
A. At Brewster, we are fortunate to be competing in NEPSAC, one of the strongest leagues for female hockey players of this age in the world. Our focus is on player development, learning to play the game with speed, preparing our players for what they are going to see in college, and helping to find the best fit for our players to play hockey in college. If the players have more than three priorities, then they have no priorities. We want our players to think family first, education second, and hockey third. Three things that prevent growth are fear, fatigue, and boredom. We want to create an environment where players feel safe and have no fear. We want our players to be in the best possible shape with up tempo practices and productive and efficient off-ice workouts and we know, with the structure established at Brewster, students will not be bored. As a coach, don’t chastise players for misplays based on skills, smarts, or sense, but certainly for a lack of effort. We are going to work hard but we are also going to have fun.
Q. You’re a dad to five kids, including Greeley, who is currently a senior. What is your best dad advice to new fathers?
A. Treat people better than you expect to be treated. Be a role model for your children. Actions are much more important than words. Based on how I treat my wife and their mother, our daughters should see a positive example of what they are looking for in a relationship. The boys should also see an example of how to treat people in their own relationships. Expect the unexpected.
Q. What do you like to do in your free time?
A. My wife Katy and I love to travel and we have started to hike again. So far this summer, we visited Moab, Utah and Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. We also hiked to Arethusa Falls in New Hampshire, did a sunrise hike to Cadillac Mountain and rode E-Bikes on the carriage roads in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor Maine. We are also planning multiple hikes in the Lake Placid area in August.
Q. What might surprise people about you?
A. I love to use poems and quotes and here are two I use frequently:
Attitude
Attributed to pastor and author Charles Swindoll, and given to Canadian hockey player Scotty Bowman by NHL Coach Toe Blake
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home…a team. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.
The Man in the Glass
by Dale Wimbrow, American composer and writer
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass;
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum
And think you’re a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
He’s the fellow to please-never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you right to the end.
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
