Success for Battista lies in attitude

There's a theory in sports that says great coaches don't have to do a lot of coaching during games. A great coach teaches and prepares his players with all they need to know during practice. Then, when game time comes, the coach should be able to stand back and let the players take over.

After winning the ACHA national championship, Penn State ice hockey coach Joe Battista took a look back at the tournament and said it was easy. Winning the national title wasn't easy -- the players will attest to that. Instead, Battista was referring to his role as coach of the championship squad.

"It was the easiest coaching job I ever had," Battista said. "I really felt like I didn't have to say a lot. I felt that the team was prepared physically and mentally. They were ready to go."

Battista recalled how he went into the locker room between periods of one of the tournament games in Iowa, sat down with the players and just discussed the game at hand. He didn't have to yell. He didn't have to diagram any particular strategies. He just sat down with the team and talked.

The players knew what they had to do to win the game. Battista didn't have to remind them of that. The players and the coach were on the same page, thinking as one. And as a coach, that made his job a hundred times easier.

"That says a lot about how ready the guys were," Battista said.

It also showed how prepared the team was to win the national championship. Although Battista probably wouldn't admit it, credit has to go to him and his coaching staff for being able to make that happen.

Battista, who owns the most wins in Penn State hockey history, didn't get those wins by slacking off. Battista loves hockey and he loves coaching. Stop by the ice pavilion any time, day or night, and you'll probably find Battista there talking hockey, coaching hockey or playing hockey. He simply does not stop thinking about the game.

That's what makes him such a great coach. He has a passion for the game that few can match. Ever since he first started playing hockey with his brother back at Penn Hills High School near Pittsburgh, Battista has shown a love for the game.

When you talk hockey with him you can see the fire in his eyes and hear the excitement in his low, crackling voice. Chat long enough with him and you'll notice his enthusiasm starting to rub off on you. There's just something about his positive attitude toward hockey that makes others excited just by talking with him.

Battista has used his own excitement and enthusiasm about the game of hockey to turn the ice hockey program at Penn State into one of the nation's top club programs. Since he took the job 11 years ago, the program has grown by leaps and bounds.

During that time, however, Battista has had to handle a lot of the coaching on his own. Believe it or not, Battista did not have a full-time paid assistant coach until Scott Balboni was hired before this season. Battista's help has always come from volunteers who either held day jobs or attended graduate school.

But the addition of Balboni paid off big time for the Icers. Balboni's ability to focus all of his attention on helping the team's defense and special teams was a big asset to Battista, who at times in the past has literally worn down his health due to his dedication to his coaching duties and a lack of rest.

With Balboni taking some of the workload off Battista's shoulders, Battista has had more time to focus his attention on certain areas of his job that need more time than others. Battista said he felt more like a CEO than a head coach this season because he didn't have to do as much work as he was used to.

The two former college defensemen (Battista at Penn State, Balboni at Providence) clicked this year. They formed a competent coaching duo that led an Icer squad that was able to easily blow away the rest of the field at the ACHA championships.

Coaching the Icers at nationals might have been an easy job for Battista. But the lack of stress he went through in Iowa was a sweet reward for the incredible amount of hard work, time and effort he has given the Penn State ice hockey club over the past 11 seasons.