Coaching Staff- Mid Fairfield CT Stars

Abbie Ives will serve as Head Coach of our inaugural U10 Showcase Team. Abbie is currently finishing her first season as Assistant Coach of the Sacred Heart Women’s Ice Hockey team. She has worked with the Mid Fairfield Stars goalies the past several seasons as well as working as an assistant coach for both U14 and U16 teams.

Abbie was a standout goalie at Quinnipiac where she ranked third all-time in program history with 14 shutouts. Across 102 career games with the Bobcats, Ives posted a .925 save percentage and a 1.79 goals-against average, on the way to a 46-41-13 record. She was named the team's MVP as a senior.

Ives spent three seasons playing for the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League and the Premier Hockey Federation. Over 33 professional games in net, she posted a .903 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average, to go with a 22-10-0 record and three shutouts. Ives backstopped the Whale to an appearance in the 2022 Isobel Cup Final. Originally from Bedford Hills, N.Y., Ives is a 2020 graduate of Quinnipiac, with a degree in English.

Brian will be returning for his fifth season of coaching with Mid Fairfield Stars. Brian grew up in Trumbull, CT and learned to skate and play hockey on the backyard pond. He played four years of varsity Ice Hockey at Trumbull High School.

Brian is a Level 4 Certified USA Hockey instructor and and his coaching focuses on overall skill development, advanced skating techniques and mechanics, team building, and all around athletic development. He attended the Level 5 Coaches Symposium and is a big proponent of the USA Hockey ADM and is always looking for opportunities to learn and grow as a hockey instructor.

During the 2021-2022 season, the Mid Fairfield Stars 12U Tier 2 team won the CHC State Tournament and competed at Regionals in MA. In both 2023 and 2024, the12U Major 2 team was runner up in the CHC State Tournament and qualified for the Regional Tournament.

Brian and his wife Annie live in Orange, CT with their daughters Maura '09 and Xuna ’12. Their oldest son Michael is a senior at Boston College.

Chris is a Level 4 Certified USA Hockey instructor that has been coaching hockey for the past 8 years, coaching from the Learn-to-Skate level to Peewee. His focus on stick handling, puck control and evasion. Chris views team building and communication as a key element for young athletes and strives for that on teams he coaches. Chris also spent 4 years coaching his daughter Ashley's soccer club.

Chris is the ather of three girls, all athletes Ashley (18), Taylor (16) and Chloe (12).

Sophia returns for her fifth season coaching with the Stars. During the 2022-23 season, she led the U12 Major 1 team to a CHC State Tournament Championship. This past season, the U12 Major 1 team placed second in the State Tournament. Sophia has experience coaching at the U10, U12, and U14 levels and is a Level 4 Certified USA Hockey Coach. Currently, Sophia also coaches learn to skate out of Fairfield Ice Academy and has run hockey camps and clinics for a variety of programs including Wade Warriors, Julie Chu, NWHL, and Hawkins Hawks.

Sophia grew up in Framingham, MA and played youth hockey on boys’ teams, from Mites through Bantam before joining the Lady Flames in Marlborough, Massachusetts. She served as a captain of the Framingham High School Flyers hockey team. She was a multi sport athlete and played 4 years Division 1 Lacrosse at the College of the Holy Cross as well as Club Hockey. During her senior year, she represented Italy’s National Women’s Lacrosse Team. After college, Sophia played for of the Hannover Lady Scorpions, a professional hockey team in Germany. While playing for the Lady Scorpions, she served as a coach for the German Women’s National Lacrosse team. Upon returning to Connecticut, Sophia coached lacrosse at the collegiate level at the University of Bridgeport. She went on to play for the CT Whale of the National Women’s Hockey League for the 2017-18 season.

This will be Elena’s 8th season with Mid Fairfield and is a Level 4 certified USA Hockey coach. She During the 2022-23 season, Elena and Coach Agostinelli led the U12 Major 1 team to the U12 Tier One CHC State Tournament Championship.

Originally from California, she attended high school at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota, where her team won a USA Hockey U19 National Championship. Elena played 4 years of Division 1 Hockey at Quinnipiac University and was also a dual-sport athlete at Quinnipiac, playing 3 years of Division 1 Rugby. After college, she played a season of professional hockey in Sweden. Coach Elena has played in the NWHL since its inaugural season and played 5 seasons with the Connecticut Whale. She served as the assistant captain for the Connecticut Whale during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. Orlando signed with the Buffalo Beauts for the 2021-22 where she received the Denna Laing Award (also called the PHF Perseverance Award) in 2022.

Bill Maniscalco has a wealth of experience and has been a hockey coaching icon in the Nutmeg State for many years. He has coached several NHL players and helped countless players, both boys and girls, realize their goal of playing college hockey. Coach Maniscalco first coached with the Mid Fairfield CT Stars during the 2008-09 season and has coached Stars teams at the U14, U16 and U19 levels over the past 16 years. In addition, Bill has been actively involved with USA Hockey and New England Development Camps. His Stars teams have won several state and regional titles and have made several appearances at USA Hockey Nationals. Most recently, he led the 2022-23 U16 Major Tier One team to victory at USAH Nationals, beating Shattuck St. Mary's to win gold.

Bill grew up in Milford and played at Fairfield Prep from 1981-85 before spending two years in junior hockey. He graduated from SCSU in 1990 after earning numerous accolades as a defenseman. He returned to his alma mater to serve as head coach from 1990 to 1994 and helped the Owls win three regular-season and two league playoff titles while making a pair of national tournament appearances. He served as Head Coach of the Choate Rosemary Hall Boys squad from 1994 to 2003, earning four appearances in the New England Playoffs. Maniscalco was the 1999 recipient of the Vincent J Reilly Coach of the Year Award. From 2004 to 2006 he was a volunteer assistant for the Quinnipiac men’s hockey team and helped the Bobcats win an Atlantic League title. From 2006 to 2018 he was an assistant coach and then associate head coach for Avon Old Farms Boys Varsity teams and helped the Winged Beavers win four New England Championships and numerous league and tournament titles. In 2018 Coach Maniscalco joined the Yale Men’s Hockey program as a volunteer coach and will return for a 5^th season.

Bill Leidt has spent more than 20 years in the world of girls’ and women’s ice hockey, his activities ranging from coaching, clinics, player development and tournament management. All of this took place on state, district and national levels.

From 2002-2014, he was a force in Connecticut Hockey. For a decade, he was a coach and coaching director for the Connecticut Polar Bears. He also served as Connecticut Girls Director (2006-14) and Connecticut State Championships Director (2008-14.)

He has served the New England Region and USA Hockey nationally in a number of capacities from 2008 to the present. Among his titles: USA Hockey Girls Eastern Select Camp Director (Founder), USA National Championship Director (Girls/Women), USA Hockey Girls ADM Launch Committee snd New England District Regional Championship Director.

Matt Herr is a native of Hackensack, N.J., who attended The Hotchkiss School for 4 years in Lakeville, CT. Herr then went on to become a two-sport athlete while he attended the University of Michigan where he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves (MLB) and the Washington Capitals (NHL). He was part of Michigan’s hockey program that made four straight Frozen Four appearances, capturing two national titles (1996, 1998). Herr skated for the U.S. in the 1996 World Junior Championship and was also named to the U.S. national team for the 1999 World Championship.

After playing Matt also served as the Head Coach and teacher at Kent School in Connecticut. There he taught US. History and A.P Psychology while also helping many players realize their dream of playing college hockey and in the National Hockey League.

Herr then took a job with USA Hockey as regional manager for the American Development Model and was a member of the coaching staff for several U.S. teams that have competed internationally; including serving as head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that played in the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic.

In 2015, Herr was named Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ innovative new training facility - UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. There, Matt oversaw business and hockey operations at the complex and worked with UPMC Sports Medicine and Sports Performance to design an integrated player development model for hockey. He was also responsible for creating and attracting high-profile hockey events to the region and overseeing the growth of hockey at the grassroots level in the region.

Herr will join the Mid-Fairfield Stars with vast coaching and playing experience. Matt played parts of four seasons with the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and concluded his playing career in the DEL for the Dusseldorf Stars. His most recent coaching experience includes stints with the Washington Pride 14U AAA team as well as working with Men’s college teams-at Skidmore college and RMU in Pittsburgh.

Ed Rodham has built a reputation in the state for his hockey knowledge, network, and ability to bring out the best in players and teams. Over the last eight seasons, his coaching resume includes five State Championships, two Regional Championships, one USA Hockey National Championship runner-up, and two USA Hockey National Championships. In addition, over 60 of Ed’s players were accepted to boarding school, and 20+ are currently playing collegiate hockey at the NCAA level. As a former NCAA collegiate player (Merrimack College), USA Hockey Level 5 (Master level) certified coach, New England District Regional instructor, and USA Hockey National Camp head coach, he brings insight and expertise that has resulted in the region's best recent performance. Ed is currently the Director of Girls’ Hockey for Connecticut and actively volunteers at the New England District and USA Hockey national level.

He and his wife, Dee, reside in Madison, CT.

Nick has been with the Mid Fairfield CT Stars for 9 seasons and has coached teams at the U14, U16 and U19 levels. Nick has was an assistant with the Choate boys hockey team where he worked under the leadership of Pat Dennehy. Nick was also a volunteer assistant for the Yale men’s hockey team for two seasons where he worked under the supervision of former Olympic, World Junior and NHL coach Keith Allain. Nick has also had the opportunity to have been mentored by Bill Maniscalco (Avon Old Farms), CJ Marottolo (Sacred Heart) and Chris Potter (Wesleyan). Nick’s previous high school coaching stints include North Haven, Guilford, Daniel Hand and Hamden Hall. Nick has coached with several youth organizations such as Mid-Fairfield, CT Yankees, Southern CT, Yale, CT Oil Kings and the Greater New Haven Warriors. Nick was a former player at North Haven, Hebron Academy, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack and Johnson and Wales. Nick works as a police officer and is a SWAT operator/sniper. Nick and his wife Kate currently reside in North Haven with their son Maksim.