It has been nearly three years since Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) announced a plan to add women’s hockey and subsequently named a head coach who was expected to launch the program. Expectations and excitement were high, but more time passed and the team seemed no closer to taking the ice.
Then, last October, MSOE announced they had hired former Wisconsin Badger Baylee (Wellhausen) Marabella to lead the program. It was a surprising and abrupt shift from what had seemed to be the previous plan.
At 28 years old, it is the first collegiate coaching role for the Williams Bay, WI native. She is taking over a program that has languished and let some of its prospective players down, some of whom were beginning to believe that the promise of a team might never come to fruition, Marabella said.
“I’ve had to earn their trust, for sure,” said Marabella.
Despite the inauspicious beginnings, she’s focused on drumming up support and excitement around the MSOE campus and community to ensure that once the team finally hits the ice, the only thing anyone is thinking about is what they can accomplish as a team.
Marabella is very aware that she’s an unconventional hire. She’s young and doesn’t have head coaching experience. But she believes that’s also part of what made her an appealing candidate.
MSOE had hired a proven coach and the program had not gotten off the ground. Marabella represents a different direction and now she has a full roster that’s ready to drop the puck on their inaugural season on November 1.
Marabella brings a unique combination of background and familiarity that made her someone the school was willing to take a chance on. She was asked to apply because she was known to the university after spending hours at the rink with her now-husband David Marabella, who played four years for the Raiders, captaining the team his final two seasons.
Coaching wasn’t really on her radar when the opportunity came up and she took time to think about if it was a path she wanted to pursue. Marabella had purposefully spent the years since she graduated from UW-Madison with a Journalism degree working to figure out who she was away from the sport that had been the driving force in her life since she was in grade school, leading her to Shattuck St. Mary’s, Wisconsin, two IIHF U18 World Championships and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association.
She needed to find out who she was beyond hockey and that has allowed her to make her way back to the sport. She says she’s grown into herself and who she wants to be, but she’s still close enough to her playing career to give her insight on what MSOE’s players need for this first season to be a success on and off the ice.
The MSOE opening took Marabella by surprise, but the more she thought about it, the more the idea excited her. She’s had plenty of moments second-guessing herself in the year since she took on the role, but she said whenever she starts to feel like she’s unprepared to lead a team, she reminds herself of her own experiences as an elite player for more than a decade. She knows what practice needs to look like, what drills to do and how important it is to have a coach that is committed, cares and has been where these players are. She even knows how important it is to take a break and not let hockey consume your life.
“I’ve been where they are. I know the skills they need to be successful on and off the ice,” she said.
And while Marabella is well set-up to succeed on her own, it would be disingenuous not to recognize that she has a massive support network that provides a safety net of sorts when she needs it.
Marabella’s stepmom is Christina Granato, meaning women’s hockey legend and assistant general manager of the Vancouver Canucks Cammi Granato, US Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Granato and NHL coach Don Granato are her aunt and uncles. The family’s years of playing, development, college and professional coaching and management experience mean she has a vast network of sources to reach out to no matter what issues she comes up against.
Knowing the absolute compendium of knowledge that’s accessible via text or phone call means there’s not a lot about this new role that feels too scary or overwhelming.
Additionally, MSOE has undergone massive athletic department growth in the past few years, particularly on the women’s side. Having a number of other head coaches who’ve recently launched programs and who are familiar with all the big and small issues on the horizon has been invaluable, Marabella said.
The past year has been one of learning and asking questions, she said, as she comes to understand the minutiae of running a Division III team, from recruiting and compliance to team gear, meals and lodging.
Despite having played Division I hockey at one of the best programs in the country, Marabella said fundamentally, the student-athlete experience isn’t all that different. She knows that there will be plenty of bumps in the road, but Marabella is committed to ensuring her players have a positive student-athlete experience that helps them improve on the ice and develops them into strong, confident leaders off the ice.
With the stretched out timeline, there is mounting anticipation and mounting pressure for this new program to get off the ground and do so successfully. MSOE took a risk in hiring Marabella and she feels like she took a leap of faith in deciding to take on coaching. After planning, arena renovations, recruiting and practice, they’re finally going to get to see if those choices will pay off.
The MSOE women’s hockey team opens their season with a home and home series against Marian College, today at 3 pm central in Fond du Lac, WI and tomorrow at 8 pm central at the Kern Center on MSOE’s campus in Milwaukee.
