Robert Belger joins the Hillside from Yorktown Heights, NY, bringing great experience from playing and coaching hockey. Rob played his college hockey at Nichols College, a Division III program in Dudley, MA, from 2013-17. During his freshman year, Rob adjusted well to college hockey, as he was nominated to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Northeast All-Rookie Team. Rob was also an integral part of the Bisons defensive core en route to their back to back conference Championships. Belger went on to graduate with a BSBA in Finance.
After his graduation, Belger immediately transitioned into coaching. He has dedicated his professional career to helping players of all ages on their hockey paths, currently certified as a Level 4 USA Hockey coach. Early in his coaching career, he worked with the Westchester Express Tier 1 program out of Brewster, NY, where he worked with their Midget program for 3 seasons. He also worked with the NY applecore of the EHL as an assistant coach, focusing on the defense, special teams, and video work. Rob later co-founded Fail Forward Hockey, a skills and training company that hosts individual training sessions and larger camps. His success as coach and instructor landed him an opportunity with the Hartford Junior Wolfpack as an Assistant Hockey Director. Rob was in charge of developing hockey programming, running skills for the organization and coaching several teams. During his transition to South Kent, Belger currently is the Hockey Director and Head Player of Development at Champions Skating Center, overseeing all hockey programming.
“We’re excited to have Coach Belger join our hockey program. His experiences as a player and a coach will help our program continue a great tradition of development and placement both on and off the ice” explains South Kent School’s Chief Athletic Officer Raphael Chillious.
Director of Hockey Andrey Uryadov says that Coach Belger “brings a great deal of knowledge on both the coaching and management sides of things. He is extremely energetic, driven, and eager to learn and continue developing players while helping them reach their potential with us. His playing background and hockey connections will continue to expand our reach as a program, benefitting our student-athletes as they look to take the next steps in their hockey careers beyond South Kent.”
When away from the rink, Rob enjoys spending time with his wife Ellie, their new daughter Brooke, and dog Cally. He also enjoys golfing and hiking in his free time.