Both the St. Thomas men’s and women’s hockey coaches spend a large amount of time committed to their respective teams during the year, however; they both lead different professional lives off the ice.

Men’s hockey coach Jeff Boeser has owned a painting company, Boeser Painting, since 1979.

Boeser appreciates that his job is flexible enough that he can focus on hockey.

“It wasn’t a plan to be a painter my whole life,” Boeser said, “but it allowed me to coach.”

Boeser said that coaching has taught him about personal growth.

“You never stop growing as a person in life, and you never stop growing as a coach,” Boeser said.

With such a busy schedule, Boeser said that having a strong support system is very important. Because of this, he is very thankful for his wife.

“She knows [hockey] is my passion, and she’s always been really supportive,” Boeser said.

He added that seeing his family, including his grandchildren, helps with the emotional ups and downs of coaching.

“You go see [family] and it puts everything in perspective,” Boeser said.

Women’s hockey coach Tom Palkowski has worked as a mortgage banker for Bell Bank since 1997. Palkowski recognizes the seasonally unique qualities in each of his jobs.

“Different times of the year bring different challenges in both jobs,” Palkowski said.

Palkowski said that his time as a coach has taught him about the value of creating a supportive community.

“It’s great to have 25 other people that have your back in the locker room,” Palkowski said.

Balancing coaching and a career has taught Palkowski that there’s always time to help others.

“There’s always time in a day to be able to mentor,” Palkowski said, “help somebody, help coach somebody.”

Drew Fielding, assistant coach for both teams, said that head coaching is very demanding. He said this is because they spend a great deal of time taking care of everything their players might need.

“[They] make sure that everything is perfect so when the players show up to the rink they’re able to just focus on hockey, which is awesome,” Fielding said.

Fielding said that the coaches’ passion makes his job as assistant coach gratifying.

“It’s really fun and very rewarding to be around both programs,” Fielding said.

Both coaches have learned lessons while coaching that have benefited their personal lives and contributed to their professional success outside of hockey.

Palkowski and Boeser agree that their jobs are made easier because they love what they do.

“I’ve been pretty fortunate to have a great group of ladies come through the program,” Palkowski said. “It just makes coming to the rink every day fun.”

“For me it’s not a job,” Boeser said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Annie Terry can be contacted at terr2351@stthomas.edu.