The IIHA are pleased to announce that it has appointed the General Manager and Head Coach of the Senior Irish National Team along with the General Manager of the U18 Irish National Team. The people appointed to these positions are as follows:
Senior
General Manager – Tony Griffin
Head Coach – Jim Tibbetts
U18
General Manager – Jim Pepper
Tony Griffin becomes the General Manager of the Senior Irish National Team for the first time following involvement with the team over the past number of years. Tony has been a member of the team’s staff for a number of years and travelled with the team to Iceland and Mexico in 2004 and 2005 respectively before returning with the team to Iceland in 2006. His involvement on these trips has stretched many areas including assisting the previous General Managers with their duties as well as coaching duties.
At the World Championship in Dundalk in 2007, Tony was again part of the team’s staff but took a more prominent involvement with the coaching of the team. His last involvement with the team was in 2008 in Romania as Assistant Coach. Over the last number of years, Tony has also worked with the Dundalk Bulls Ice Hockey Club as a coach, general manager and director of hockey. His experience at previous World Championships on top of his work with the Dundalk Bulls Ice Hockey Club will prove invaluable to the Irish National Team.
Jim Tibbetts returns to coach the Irish National Team for the fifth successive year. Jim first became involved with the team as Assistant Coach of the team that travelled to Mexico in 2005. The following year, Jim was appointed the Head Coach of the team following the departure of Jim Graves. Jim has experienced both highs and lows with the team. The highlight of his time in charge is most certainly leading Ireland to it’s only ever medal at the senior level in Dundalk in 2007. However, since then Ireland has experienced two tough years in both Romania and New Zealand failing to win a game in either World Championship. Throughout this time and for almost twenty years, Jim has been heavily involved in coaching the underage French National Teams even at World Championship level. He will rely on his past experiences and vast hockey knowledge to lead Ireland to a gold medal in Greece in April.
Jim Pepper also becomes the General Manager of the U18 Irish National Team for the first time. Jim will work alongside the team’s Head Coach, Sean Dooley, in preparing the team for the World Championship in Mexico this March. Jim will be very well known around the Dundalk Ice Dome as he has volunteered as a timekeeper for IIHL games over the past two and a half years. Last season, Jim also served on the IIHA’s Discipline Committee and at this moment in time, he is the IIHL’s Interim League Chairman. Prior to becoming involved in ice hockey, Jim has been heavily in the sport of rugby as both a player and administrator. He will rely on the skills picked up here to have to team in top shape for its trip to Mexico in March.
We wish all applicants good luck in their respective positions.