Fenwick Celebrates 15 Years With Coach Mason Strom

By Ross Forman
Mason Strom finished his 15th season as the head coach for the Fenwick High School Girls Hockey Team on March 15th on the bench at the Allstate Arena, as the Friars challenged New Trier for the Illinois High School Hockey State Championship.

“I did not plan to get involved with the Fenwick club, or to even continue coaching for this long,” said Strom, 39, who lives in River Forest and has coached at OPRF, Robert Morris and Roosevelt University. “But my experiences with (Fenwick, Metro Girls), the teams and the community we have built have been so positive that I have continued to be involved in a way that is very fulfilling.”

Fenwick could not contain the Trevians this spring as New Trier celebrated its 5-3 state championship win.

Strom is still smiling, nonetheless.

“I was in grad school and about to take a step back from coaching when I was approached by a group of parents. The OPRF girls’ team was moving back to Fenwick and their coach was resigning due to a high-risk pregnancy. They were looking for someone to step in,” Strom said. “I had just resigned as the boys’ varsity coach and knew most of the girls’ players, so I agreed to step in, temporarily.

“I can’t say I ever envisioned (being a high school head coach), but I was always a student of the game, so it was a natural progression.

“Coaching girls can be quite different from coaching boys and I was apprehensive at first. The adjustment period was quick and I find the things that frustrated me about coaching boys weren’t really issues when coaching girls.”

Strom said his 15-year run has been anchored on the “the relationships that have been built, the real-world connections, watching these players grow into successful young women who tear down barriers of the past. 

“The family and community we have built continue to be a point of pride for our club.”

Fenwick has had plenty of highlights over the past 15 years, starting with the 2019 state championship. Others include last-minute game-winning and game-tying goals.

In the 2019-2020 season, Fenwick’s backup goalie played as a forward when she wasn’t in net. “The game she scored a goal in was very memorable and the joy she had on her face coming back to the bench,” was priceless, Strom said. “Off the ice, I remember a moment of a player crying in the locker room after losing the last game of the season. As her teammates consoled her, she said that she wasn’t crying because we lost, she was crying because the season was over and she was going to miss this team so much. That was a moment which really hit me what the gravity of the community I was involved in and how important it was for Fenwick hockey to provide a place to play.

“Two games that really stick out are the state semifinals in 2013 and 2026. We were the No. 4 seed in both games and won both against the No. 1 seed by a final score of 3-2 to advance to the state final. We lost both of those state finals, but the semifinals stick out because they were both games that we were expected to lose and watching the perseverance of those two teams overcome steep odds made me very prideful of their accomplishments.”

Strom has witnessed massive growth in Metro Girls, plus stability for girls in the sport.

“We have great leadership and the players involved continue to make it a valuable part of the hockey community,” he said. “The league saw a lot of growth in the 2010s. (The pandemic) hurt the viability of a couple of member clubs and the growth of Tier II at the U16 and U19 levels in recent years has kept the team count stable.

“Although growth in the league has slowed recently, the overall growth of the game in the girls division is seen across the state with a team on the southside representing a new area for us and York breaking off to form their own pure high school team. With the rise in popularity and the expansion of the PWHL, I would expect an influx of new hockey players over the next decade, which could lead to continued growth in Metro Girls.”

Kate Mulvihill, a junior Fenwick forward this past season, was named the Cammi Granato Illinois Girls High School Hockey Player of the Year.

“I am (very) proud of the community we have formed and the positive traditions the players have passed down,” over the years, Strom said. “In 2013, we lost the state final. Two players from that team and another alum got involved with the club after college and coached with me in the 2018-19 season. When we advanced to the state final, these coaches shared their experiences of playing at the United Center in 2013 and gave advice on how to handle the nerves and the grandeur of the stadium.

“The Fenwick girls hockey team feels like a family. The community goes beyond the game. Our experiences here are about preparing for success beyond high school and maturing into good people. Many alums stay involved whether it’s in the offseason or coming back to coach as a young adult.”

Just Consider:

•    Kristin Tufano played three seasons for the Friars in the mid-2010s, then at Adrian College. When she returned to Chicago, she got involved in coaching and has been on staff for several seasons.

“Kristin reminds me a lot of how I got involved in coaching; her playing career came to an end and she wanted to stay involved with the game she loves and devoted so much of her formative years to,” Strom said. “Fenwick was always a place where she was comfortable and had a lot of success. That success has translated onto the coaching side. She is also a new mother, so it’s really cool to see her raising her son.”

•    Kurt Gawley is the father of a Fenwick alum: Ava (class of 2018) played four seasons before skating at Michigan State University. Kurt has two kids who attended and played for Fenwick. Once they both graduated, he began coaching the girls team.

“Kurt is a hockey guy through and through, a real salt of the earth kind of guy who wants to see players succeed,” Strom said. “Kurt’s daughter played at Fenwick and was an impact player for us for four years. Once his son graduated and there were no longer perceived conflicts of interest, I reached out to Kurt. He has an excellent mind and attitude to have on the bench and in the locker room. He is competitive and wants to win, but he also understands the bigger picture of what we’re doing here.”

•    Lauren Kaiser is the youngest of five children – and all her siblings attended Fenwick. Her oldest sister, Ellie, is the all-time leading scorer for the Fenwick girls’ team. Ellie was a member of the 2019 state championship team and the 2019 state championship MVP. Lauren was just starting in hockey around that time and would come to the rink to cheer her sister on. Ellie played four seasons of NCAA Division I hockey at RPI, then professionally last season in Sweden. Ellie’s brother played at Fenwick, too. Lauren will play for Fenwick in the fall.

“I remember seeing (Lauren) at mini mites, so it is really cool to see her come as a freshman in the fall to skate for Fenwick,” Strom said. “Ellie is the only girl’s hockey player to ever win the Fenwick Lawless Award, awarded annually to the school’s best athlete. For Fenwick, she is the definition of drive. Whenever there was extra ice time, Ellie was working on her game. Simple, individual drills or asking me to feed her one-timers or defend her on a 1-on-1. Her commitment to be the player who makes the big play in the big moment is her legacy. All the hard work behind the scenes that many players ignore or discount.”

•    Sophia Schak is the niece of 2019 state champion team member Samantha Schak. Sam played four years for Fenwick, and her many nieces and nephews would attend games to cheer her on. Her father served as the team photographer for many seasons.

“Sam stepped into a big role in 2020 after the graduation of 11 players in 2019,” Strom said. “She is one of the sweetest people off the ice and comes from a huge family. She would often talk about her many brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. This fall, one of her older brother’s daughters, Sophia, will play for Fenwick.”

•    Pam Flores has had two children play for Fenwick over a 7-year period and continues to manage the team out of sheer love for the club. Her youngest is out of college and has a child of her own.

“Pam got involved with the club in the 2012-13 season when her oldest was a freshman and stepped into net for Fenwick,” Strom said. “Pam eventually became the team manager and now the vice president of the league. She is a tireless advocate for the girl’s game and her commitment is on display every day while she continues to serve as president of the girls’ club long after her two kids, both goalies, have graduated. Her youngest, Lena, who led the team to a state title in 2019, has a kid of her own, which she brings to the rink on occasion to cheer on the team.”

•    Bob Monaco was Strom’s first travel hockey coach. “I learned many of the basic positioning and game flow lessons from Coach Bob when I was 7 years-old,” Strom said. “Roughly 18 years later, I started coaching at Fenwick and his youngest daughter, Michaela was a sophomore on the team. I had the honor of passing down Coach Bob’s own teachings to his daughter for three seasons, including a memorable game at the United Center in 2013.

“The Fenwick girls team started during the 2003-04 season. One of my classmates played goalie for them and I used to attend goalie training sessions with her as a shooter. Little did I know that years later I would be coaching the team. The first three seasons I coached the Fenwick team, the daughter of my very first hockey coach, Bob Monaco, had a daughter who attended Fenwick and played on the team. It truly is a small world in the hockey community and the connections at Fenwick run deep.

“When I was first hired to coach high school hockey, my youth and relatability to the players was an asset. I’ve had to evolve my coaching style and how I instruct players to stay effective behind the bench.

“Girls high school hockey, being mostly combined teams, forges connections in an unconventional way. Mixing different talent levels from common areas and putting them in a competitive environment that does not carry the same pressure as travel hockey creates a positive atmosphere that is difficult to replicate in other areas of the sport.”