Derek Arledge
Hockey Director, Kids On Ice | Fort Dupont
Derek began his coaching career as a junior at Penn State University. After playing for two seasons with the ACHA Div 2 team, he served as an assistant coach for three seasons with the then Penn State Lady Icers, helping to lead them to a 2001-2002 3rd place finish at ACHA Nationals and three consecutive National appearances. After college Derek went on to coach for one year at his high school alma mater, Gonzaga College High School (DC), as an assistant coach with the JV team. His experience then led him to serve as an assistant coach for two seasons with the Baltimore Stars of the CBHL under one of his former coaches as a player. The Stars reached the 2006 USA Southeastern District Regionals.
After moving to Boston and Cambridge, MA, in 2006, Derek served as an assistant coach within the Cambridge Youth Hockey organization, mainly working with Midget and Bantam teams, out of the GBYHL for a few seasons while juggling graduate school and work, continuing his current career in human performance (strength & conditioning/health & fitness). When it was time to move back to the DC area in 2016, Derek answered the call to become the head coach at Holton-Arms (Bethesda, MD) for two seasons. While at the helm with Holton, the Panthers finished runner-up in the Mid-Atlantic Girl’s Hockey League (MAGHL) and won the Miran Division Championship in his last season in the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic (WIHLMA).
His time after Holton-Arms led him to one of his current coaching roles: In 2018, Derek was named the Varsity 2 Head Coach at Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, VA). The Knights finished the 2019-2020 season as Chiller Tournament Thanksgiving Champions (Dublin, OH) and runner-ups in the Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League, in which Coach Arledge was humbly named MAPHL-A Coach of the Year. He says, “We had a young team, but they stepped up and will continue their success on and off the ice.”
While continuing to serve as a high school head coach, in 2019, Derek was named the head coach for the University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC). “The Retrievers did not field a team for two seasons, so we are re-tooling as a program.”
As a fun cool down to coaching duties, Derek serves as a volunteer hockey coach with the Kids On Ice program at Fort Dupont Ice Arena (DC). “I enjoy it because I get to skate with my son and coach with two of my former teammates and classmates. One of them, Billy Bryant, heads up the KOI hockey program, and we have known each other for almost 40 years. My goodness! Did I just write that?…well, 38!”
Playing:
Capital Boys (Capital Youth) Hockey Club – `90-’97
Gonzaga College High School – `94-’97
Baltimore Jr. Bandits Midget AAA/Jr B – `97-’98
Penn State Ice Lions – `98-’00
Coaching:
Penn State Lady Icers, Asst. Coach – `00-`03 (ACHA Nationals 3rd place)
Gonzaga College High School, Asst. Coach- ’03
Baltimore Stars Midget A/AA, Asst Coach – `04-’06
Cambridge Youth Hockey Bantam/Midget, Asst. Coach – `06-’07, ’12
Holton-Arms, Head Coach – `16-’18 (WIHLMA Division Champions, MAGHL Runner-ups)
Bishop O’Connell, Varsity 2 Head Coach – `18-Present (MAPHL A Runner-ups, COY recipient)
University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Head Coach – `19-2022
