Sami Reber always saw herself coming back to Edina one day. After graduating from Edina High School in 2011, Reber left to play hockey for Harvard. She earned her degree in 2015 and, following graduation, was hired as an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota-Duluth women’s hockey team, which she did for one season. “I didn’t see myself coming back for a few more years,” says Reber. But when the opportunity arose to return and coach for her alma mater, she had to take it.
A new hockey season means new goals to focus on. And in the “state of hockey,” winning a state championship is always a goal for most, if not all, teams. As a new coach, there may be a little bit of added pressure on Reber to do well. Edina has made state tournament appearances the past two years and, losing only three seniors last season, there is opportunity to come back for another state tournament appearance. “Edina hasn’t won a state championship yet and I would love for us to come back to the tournament and win,” says Reber. As for other goals for this season, Reber would like players to focus on working together as a team as well as learning and growing from one another as players and as individuals.
Having grown up through the Edina hockey program, Reber has an advantage of being able to better relate to her players. But what she is most excited for this season is “to see the women grow as individuals. This is my dream come true, becoming the girls’ head hockey coach.”
Schedule for the Edina girls’ hockey team can be found at the website here.
