Icer coach Battista carries intensity to bench

By JOSHUA RHETT MILLER
Collegian Staff Writer

Instead of days of old when he planted nasty checks on skating enemies, Joe Battista now stands safely behind wooden boards yelling instructions and pointing fingers.

Change of scenery? Sure.

A different method to his madness? No way.

Battista, coach of the No. 3 Penn State Icers, has experienced both sides of ice hockey. He's dirtied his uniform with blood and sweat and he's dirtied his fingers with chalk and markers from the drawing board.

Regardless of the situation, Battista goes by the same belief.

"I don't like to lose or get beaten," the Pittsburgh native said. "If someone is going to be beat me, I'm going to make them earn it."

Battista's style has enabled him to succeed both on and off the ice. As a coach, he has won nine NLIT Championships, three Chicago Tournament Championships, two ACHA Championships and two ICHL Championships. In his 12th season as the top man for Penn State, Battista is a remarkable 307-81-16 (.760).

"Joe Ba," as he is affectionately called by friends and teammates, played for the very team he now coaches from 1978-82 with virtually the same success he has enjoyed as a coach. The scrappy defender was a two-time MACHC All-Star and was both the team's captain and Most Valuable Player his senior year. His 50 points as a defenseman is a Penn State top-10 all-time best mark and his 138 points in 92 games ranks him fifth all-time in career points.

"As a player, I always believed I could beat the odds," he said. "I wasn't the strongest or fastest, but I was a competitor. I think as a coach I still feel that way."

Following graduation from Penn State with a degree in marketing, Battista took a job as director of amateur hockey development for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He then moved on to coaching positions at NCAA powerhouse Kent State and prep school Culver Military Academy.

"The only reason I left Culver was because the job was available at Penn State," Battista said. "I said, 'What the heck.' It was a chance to get back to my alma mater and a chance to get back to Pennsylvania."

In a way, Battista never really left Happy Valley. While an academic counselor and golf coach at

Culver, he returned to Penn State for summer youth hockey camp.

Success for Battista at Penn State came immediately. In his first three seasons as coach he guided the Icers to two ICHL championships.

The humble Battista tries his best not to take too much credit. He understands the concept of team play.

"If there's any credit I'll take, I've been able to attract a lot of enthusiastic and loyal people to work in our program," he said. "I'm certainly not the one who comes up with the great ideas, but I do make them happen. I've been blessed to have so many good friends."

Battista prides himself on forming a close-knit relationship with his players. Sometimes, the coach straps on the skates and gets on the ice with his guys in practice.

"I still have that competitive fire in me," he said. "I still love to play."

Players who have been on the same ice as Battista know that fact very well.

"Everyone knows about his intensity," senior forward C.J. Patrick said. "He loves what he's doing and he really gets into it. Obviously no one likes to lose, but he takes it one step further. It drives him nuts."

Anyone who goes to an Icers' home game knows that Battista holds nothing back. He's as talkative as a Jerry Springer guest and is almost never seen sitting down.

"When I coach, my emotions can be one of my strengths and weaknesses," he said. "Sometimes I get too emotional and passionate about winning. Let's face it, people who know me know that I'm not like the stoic Tom Laundry of the Dallas Cowboys. I'm more like (Pittsburgh Steelers coach) Bill Cowher. I'm animated, vocal and very active."

With a 5-1 victory against Arizona State on Jan. 6, Battista became the first Penn State coach with 300 victories. True to form, Battista didn't make it a big deal.

"I didn't think 300 wins was going to be such a big deal, but the way the team reacted with cards and emails was great," he said. "It turned out to be a time to reminiscence and reflect."

The motivation behind Battista is simple: He loves to win. Ever since his days of playing hockey in the streets of Western Pennsylvania, he's hated to lose.

"He uses a different type of motivation than I've ever seen before," senior forward Joe Bassett said. "He wants to do everything with class and have no trash talking. Most guys go into the locker room and yell and scream, but he comes in and says, 'We'll do our talking on the scoreboard.' "

Battista, who coached Penn State to its first ACHA championship since 1990 last year, desperately wants to win it all again. His Icers (20-3-2) are poised and ready to repeat.

"Sure, we want to become Penn State's first back-to-back national champions," he said. "We can do it but things are going to have to fall into place for us. There are a lot of good teams out there right now."

Despite the fact that the Battista loves ice hockey "to death" he realizes other things come first.

"I leave the game at the rink," he said. "I try not to lose sight of the fact that it's just a game. To me, you always take care of your education and family first."

When the puck finally stops sliding and the final buzzer sounds, Battista knows there will be another day and an another game.

Just not soon enough.