Travel Team Coaches
Phil Huynh
Chad Asprooth
Chad and his family relocated to the NorCal area from Northern Illinois in March of 2018. While in Illinois, Chad coached under the AAU hockey format for both Mini-Mites and Mites at Glacier Arena in Vernon Hills, IL. At Tri-Valley he has coached at the Mite, LBD Mite, Squirt, and PeeWee travel and tier levels. He also plays in the Tri-Valley Adult Hockey League. Hockey is truly a family affair, as both Chad’s son and daughter play at Tri-Valley and continue to be avid Chicago Blackhawks fans!
Chad’s coaching philosophy is for the kids to have fun, with continued enhancement of skills, self-confidence and hard work that translates into a complete player on and off the ice. As a former Division I collegiate track athlete, Chad teaches that hard work in both practice and games leads to rewarding experience for the individual and cumulatively as a team. What the kids ultimately achieve as a team, win or lose, will help create a strong bond, friendships and life-skills that will serve them well.
Joe Carranza
Joe Carranza has been coaching for the TVMHA since the fall of 2005 at the mite in-house, mite-X, U 10, U 12 and U 14 levels as both an assistant and head coach. He has also served as an assistant and the head for the California High school’s club team the past 4 years. Those teams won three Pure High School Championships in four years. He holds a level four coaching card. The last three years he has coached at the U 14 level. His 16-17 B team won the Regional Silver Stick tournament and lost in the semifinals in Canada. The team also qualified for NORCAL. The 17-18 team won the Regional Silver Stick Tournament making it to the quarter finals in Canada, finished first in NORCAL league play and won both the NORCAL and State Championships. The 18-19 team was a semifinalist in the regional Silver Stick Tournament and Littleton Hockey Ass. Presidents Day Tournament and a finalist in the MLK Classic at Great Parks ice arena in Irvine. Of the 47 players who played on these last three teams 19 have gone on to play Tier II hockey at the U 14, U16 and U18 levels.
John Devereaux
John is product of Scituate, Massachusetts. He is an alumni with a Management degree from Boston College and former captain of the Boston College hockey team. John continued to play for 10 years Professionally after college, captaining 4 different professional teams and winning multiple championships. He was drafted in the 9th round of the 1984 NHL draft by the Hartford Whalers. John‘s coaching experience includes the USHL, American College Hockey Association, ECEL, and the T1EHL. and he founded 4 different youth hockey programs, leading to many state regional and National championships.
Mike Holmes
Eric Lahrs
Dean Miyao
Dean Miyao is starting his 10th season coaching hockey in the Bay Area. Dean started coaching Mites in Fremont and then transitioned to the Tri-Valley Blue Devils organization coaching Squirts through Midgets. He was also an Assistant Coach for the Oakland Bears 16U-AA team and is currently the head coach for the Livermore/Dougherty High School team within the Tri-Valley “Pure” high school hockey program. In addition to coaching, Dean was also a NorCal Selects player evaluator.
Dean grew up in Michigan and played hockey from squirts through high school on various Tier AA and AAA teams in the greater Michigan and Eastern Ontario Canada areas. As an 18-year-old, Dean was invited to try out for the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team and was offered scholarships to play Varsity hockey for Lake Forest College (NCHA D3) in Illinois and Lacrosse at Denison University (Granville, OH). Dean also enjoys golfing, downhill skiing and spending time with his family!
Alex Kaplenko
Alex is entering his 18th season of coaching youth hockey. His coaching career started at TVMHA in 1996 for a High School project. In 2001, he obtained USA Hockey Level 4 Advanced coaching certification and has continued to learn and evolve every year. Alex’s coaching philosophy centers around ensuring lots of repetitions and touches, eliminating practice idle time, breaking down the fundamentals, and challenging players beyond their comfort zone. He tries to create a fun & competitive atmosphere with personal growth and accountability. He believes that effort + attitude = improvement + enjoyment.
Alex started playing ice hockey at TVMHA House program under Bill Davis and capped off his Blue Devils career as the captain of the Midget Nor-Cal and State championships team in 1998. He also spent few years playing for Cal Ice Hockey (ACHA DII).
During the past 17 years of coaching, Alex has coached 6U – 14U teams with Tri-Valley and Berkeley Bulldogs from house to AA level. Alex has been coaching LBD for the past 7 seasons, including 2 as the LBD Director when the program expanded to field first ever LBD Norcal travel team and captured program’s first tournament championships. In addition, Alex has been working closely with Phil Huynh in the house and Mite X programs the past 4 seasons rolling out Small Area Games and stations structure as his 2 boys joined the program.
Todd Lyijynen
Todd began coaching at Tri Valley 15 seasons ago. Todd has coached at all age levels during his two children’s progression from MiteX to Midget 18A. Once his children aged out, Todd has continued to coach the TV Midget 18A/HS team for the past 8 seasons, winning two CAHA State Championships. Todd was also the head coach of the Cal High team for two seasons, winning one championship.
Todd’s youth playing career began as a 5 year old in New Jersey and continued through Midget 18AA. Todd continued to play in various intra-mural and rec leagues during college in Michigan and later here in Northern California. Many of his former players have returned to become teammates with Todd in various adult leagues, including his two children.
