Even though Barry Schutte hails from Thunder Bay, Ontario, a place that produces more professional hockey players per capita than any other city, he considers Ohio his home. After committing to Miami University to play Division I hockey in college, he’s planted his roots in the state.
“I didn’t know where Ohio was, let alone Oxford, Ohio … and I was fortunate to play Division I at Miami, that led me down a path that kept me in the state,” Schutte said. “I’ve been in Oxford for five years; it was Bowling Green for nine years before that- so I’ve tried Southwest, Northwest and now I am going to try Southeast (Ohio).”
Schutte’s family still resides in Oxford, but he can’t wait for them to be able to join him in Athens.
“To have an opportunity to to continue to make it our home in this part of the country, at another cool place with great people, which checked a lot of the boxes … yeah it worked out great,” Schutte said.
Hockey has been a part of Schutte’s life for as long as he can remember. He recounted a childhood story of the sport bringing the whole neighborhood together, and since it got cold so early in Canada, it made it easy for everyone to skate outside. He fondly talked about how his mom would lace his skates up for him because he couldn’t do it himself, and then send him out to skate with the other kids. Until one day, he was able to lace up his skates all by himself.
This continuous love of hockey is what began to foster his interest in coaching, as well as what he chose to pursue in college.
“I was an education major, so I always valued that mentorship and teaching type of role. I knew by the time I graduated I didn’t want to be in the classroom necessarily,” Schutte said. “I ultimately went back and worked at Miami University … and part of the job was to coach the Division II Club Team.”
Schutte hadn’t even initially set out to become a hockey coach as his career path, but he ended up becoming fond of the friendships that were forged in the locker room, plus winning a national championship his first year certainly helped too.
“That’s kind of where I fell in love with coaching, those first couple years, and that led me to become a volunteer coach with the varsity team … and then I went out on my own and did junior hockey," Schutte said. "That’s where coaching became, 'Okay, I am going to pay the bills with this."
Schutte spent most of his coaching career at the NCAA level, but he’s excited about the opportunity and the particular landscape that comes with helming a club team rather than a Division I team.
“Unfortunately, the whole Division I athletics landscape is changing dramatically, which has really changed the job of an assistant coach," Schutte said. "It’s recruit, recruit, recruit and there is less coaching now. So, what excited me about this opportunity was getting back to the grassroots of the game, kids playing for the love of the game … it’s the true purity of the sport.”
Schutte has been spending some time getting to know his new team and said one of his main values is building relationships, which is a big factor in helping everyone play better. After team meetings, he wants to take some time to connect with everyone individually, and help them become the best version of themselves, both as an athlete and as a person.
Besides connecting with his team, Schutte is most excited to experience the spirited Bobcat Hockey fanbase that fills the stands in Bird Arena week in and week out.
“I am looking forward to engaging in the community, on and off campus and feeling the passion everyone has for it (hockey) and being a part of that again,” Schutte said.
Schutte feels like this is Ohio’s year and couldn’t be more thrilled that he gets to be a part of it.
“A lot of pieces are in place,“ Schutte said. "These guys have worked hard … hopefully we can make a good run. They’re knocking on the door and it's their time - why not us?”
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