For Jon Sokolski, his connection to BB&N hockey began long before he ever imagined he would be standing behind the bench.
Growing up in Burlington, Massachusetts, Jon remembers playing against BB&N’s middle school team when he was in sixth grade. As he and his parents walked onto campus that day, he remembers thinking, “What in the world is this place?”
Years later, after playing hockey at St. John’s Prep, spending a postgraduate year at Canterbury School, and continuing his playing career at Tufts University, he would return to that same campus, not as an opposing player, but as BB&N’s new Head Hockey Coach and Associate Director of Athletics for the Middle School.
It is a path that has been anything but linear.
An Unexpected Start in Coaching
Coaching was not necessarily the plan when Jon arrived at Tufts. He came to college as a hockey player, but concussions during his sophomore and junior years ultimately brought his playing career to an earlier than expected end.
During his senior year, it became clear that he would not be returning to the ice. Instead of ending his involvement with the program, Tufts coach Brian Murphy, now Vice President and Director of Scouting at Neutral Zone, gave him another opportunity, bringing him onto the staff as a student assistant coach for $10 an hour.
Jon started by helping with video and pre-scouting opponents, while gradually learning recruiting and, perhaps most importantly, learning to see the game from a coach’s perspective.
“I would have preferred to finish my college career as a player,” Jon says. “But I’m not sure I’d be in the position I’m in today if that had happened.”
After graduating, Jon knew he wanted to pursue coaching full time. He went to the Millbrook School, where he coached hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, followed by several years coaching at the junior and high school levels.
Then, in 2018, another opportunity brought him back to Tufts.
Seeing the Student-Athlete Experience From Both Sides
The now Head Coach of the Tufts Jumbos, Pat Norton, hired Jon as an Assistant Hockey Coach, while Tufts also brought him into the Undergraduate Admissions Office.
That combination became one of the defining experiences of his career.
Jon was eventually promoted to an Associate Director of Admissions, managing domestic recruitment and serving as the liaison to the athletic department. While coaching hockey, he also worked with all 28 varsity teams and their coaches on recruiting and read applications for recruited athletes.
It gave him a perspective few coaches have: seeing the student-athlete process from both sides.
One of his biggest takeaways was just how difficult it is to play college athletics at any level.
“There are so many amazing kids and athletes,” he says. “Every kid and parent wants to know the secret. The truth is, I don’t think there is one.”
What he did see were preventable mistakes that sometimes closed doors for talented student-athletes.
A student interested in a particular field might not have the right courses required by a particular college. A student who moves between several schools may create an academic record that is more difficult for an admissions office to evaluate. Students enrolled in online programs without appropriate guidance can face challenges they never anticipated.
In those situations, a coach may love a player while the admissions office ultimately cannot admit the student.
That experience shaped a central part of Jon’s coaching philosophy: helping young people and their families open as many doors as possible.
“I want to help kids and families avoid the pitfalls I’ve seen countless times,” he says. “I want them to position themselves to have as many opportunities as possible.”
Building Belief at Tufts
Jon’s years back at Tufts were also significant on the ice.
Tufts competes in the NESCAC, a league Jon considers one of the strongest Division III student-athlete conferences in the world. The program had experienced its share of ups and downs, but during his time on staff, he saw a shift in the team’s belief in itself.
Pat Norton gave Jon room to grow as a coach, encouraging his ideas and allowing him to try new things while building a culture the entire staff believed in.
“He taught me a lot and gave me a lot of opportunity to grow as a coach,” Jon says.
That belief eventually translated into unprecedented success for Tufts hockey. The team reached the NESCAC championship game in back-to-back seasons after never having previously reached the championship game.
Leaving Tufts was incredibly difficult, but Jon is proud of the role he played in helping move the program forward.
Why BB&N?
In many ways, coming to BB&N feels like the natural next chapter.
Jon had known the school since childhood. More recently, he had visited BB&N as a Tufts admissions officer, meeting with the college counseling department and reading hundreds of BB&N applications.
He already knew the caliber of the students.
He was not actively looking to leave Tufts when the BB&N Head Coaching position opened. But the opportunity to combine coaching with the Associate Director of Athletics role was enough to make him curious.
Then he visited campus for his interview.
“My whole mindset changed,” he says. “The longer the hiring process went on, the more I really wanted to work here.”
What stood out was the people, the energy on campus, and the larger community surrounding BB&N athletics.
“We’re located in the student-athlete capital of the world,” Jon says. From his office, he can see Harvard University and the Charles River. The ISL offers the same kind of highly competitive, collaborative environment that he experienced in the NESCAC.
“Despite teams competing against each other, there’s a mutual respect for one another,” he says. “We’re all striving for the same thing, to help our kids grow, learn, develop as kind, hardworking people, and hopefully use their sport to open more doors and opportunities in college and beyond.”
Defining Success
Of course, Jon wants to win.
He wants to compete for an ISL championship. He wants to compete for a prep championship. He wants his players to have the opportunity to play college hockey.
But when asked how he measures success, his answer goes deeper.
He thinks back to his years at Tufts, particularly the program’s senior night. Years after playing together, alumni continue to return to support their former teammates.
One year, a Tufts senior from Spain was being honored. Alumni brought a Spanish flag and asked the DJ to play the Spanish national anthem. The rink was packed with alumni, students, family, and friends.
Tufts still had not won the NESCAC championship.
But to Jon, that night represented success.
“I want to build that same mindset and culture here at BB&N,” he says. “I want our kids to be proud of playing here. I want them to love BB&N hockey. I want them coming back to support their old teammates.”
He believes that kind of culture can ultimately lead to winning.
“But it’s going to take a lot of work,” he says. “I look around campus, I see our facilities, we offer a world-class education. We have everything we need. We just need to believe.”
Building the Foundation
For Jon, that foundation starts with the players themselves.
“First and foremost, I want players who want to be here,” he says.
He wants athletes who embody BB&N’s values of Honor, Scholarship, and Kindness. He wants teammates who support one another while also pushing each other to improve. He wants students who embrace the challenge of balancing the demands of being a student-athlete at BB&N.
He wants players who love hockey. Most importantly, he wants players who believe in what they are building.
“Every successful program has a class of kids and people who were there at the ground level,” he says. “Who build the foundation. That’s what I’m looking for.”
The Coach Behind the Coach
Away from the rink, life has taken on a very different, and very rewarding, dimension.
Jon lives in Natick with his wife, Anna, whom he met during their senior year at Tufts, and their daughter, Charlotte. Anna has been beside him through every chapter of his journey, and the family is preparing to welcome another baby.
And while hockey is clearly a major part of his life, there is one role that brings out a different side of him.
“I’m a total softy with my daughter,” he says.
His favorite part of the day is something decidedly less complicated than hockey or college admissions: picking vegetables with Charlotte in their garden.
It is perhaps an appropriate reminder of what Jon hopes to build at BB&N, a program that works hard, competes, believes in itself, and, above all, gives young people an experience they will carry with them long after they leave the rink.
For a coach whose own career began because someone gave him an unexpected opportunity, the next chapter is now about creating those opportunities for the next generation.
And this time, he gets to build it at a place he first encountered as a sixth grader, wondering what in the world this place was.
Now, he’s here.
Hockey players interested in attending and playing hockey at BB&N can email Coach Sokolski at jsokolski@bbns.org