MASSENA — Massena's Mike Trimboli earned a national endorsement from USA Hockey this past weekend.
Trimboli, who in June 2021 became the sixth president in the national governing body's 97-year history, was unanimously re-elected to a second three-year term without opposition on the final day of the group's annual meeting, which was held in Denver the first week of June and concluded last Saturday.
“It's an honor to have leaders from around the country place their trust and confidence in me,” said Trimboli, who has been actively involved in the United States Hockey Association since the late 1970s as a player, on-ice official, coach and administrator at the district, state and national levels, and since 2009 has served as head coach of the highly successful Massena Central boys' hockey program.
“Being president is certainly a big responsibility, but as an organization we've tried to create a positive culture of getting things done through teamwork, and it's great to be a part of that atmosphere,” he said.
In the three years since he was promoted to the U.S. Hockey Association's top volunteer, the Massena native has seen the association recover from a steep decline in player numbers during the peak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted from late January 2020 until late May of last year, and has witnessed various teams enjoy continued success in international competition.
According to statistics released at the annual meeting, USA Hockey's registered players totaled 564,468, an increase of about 1.5% from last year. The association also recorded record numbers for coaches (64,280) and officials (31,125) for the 2023-24 season.
“As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, our primary focus has been on participant safety and increasing registration numbers again, and we have been able to achieve that. We have seen a steady increase in participation, not only among athletes, but also among coaches and officials. In fact, the number of women and girls who registered last year reached an all-time high of nearly 94,000,” he said.
“Our membership growth is down to grassroots volunteers from our 34 member organizations across the country,” he added. “It all starts with leadership on the ground.”
Trimboli has been able to oversee a recovery in enrollment numbers and witness USA Hockey achieve success on the international stage with men's, women's and sled teams at various levels both domestically and internationally.
“Looking back at the recent world championships this year, the U.S. team has competed in six of the seven gold medal games, winning three gold medals and three silver medals,” he said. “No other country has won more gold medals in major international competitions this season than the United States.”
“The Women's World Championships were held in Utica in April and were a huge success,” he added. “The tournament drew the largest attendance ever for a tournament in the United States.”
Despite spending a significant amount of time dealing with the domestic and international issues facing USA Hockey, Trimboli expects to continue in his duties as the Raiders' hockey coach after leading the team to another Section 10 Division I championship last winter and its first appearance in the NYSPHSAA semifinals in Buffalo since 2018.
“Continuing to coach has never been an issue,” he said. “I have rarely missed a practice and have only missed one non-league game in my first three years. I appreciate the support of Massena Central's management in this endeavor.”
“In fact, since becoming president, I have been fortunate to learn more as a coach. As part of my stint with the international team, I would watch different teams practice and take notes on drills and how these high-level coaches conduct their training. The learning never stops and I have brought those modern concepts back to the team.”
Trimboli's first involvement as a volunteer administrator with USA Hockey was in 1996, when he was appointed regional vice president of the New York State Amateur Hockey Association and subsequently elected vice president of the affiliate.
