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| Tom Jackson is the new Widnes Wild NIHL Player Coach (Photo by David Tattum / DJT Ice Hockey Photos) |
The Widnes Wild NIHL team have announced that popular senior player Tom Jackson has been appointed Player/Coach for the forthcoming 2024/25 Moralee Division season.
The team’s longest serving player has been team captain for the past 3 seasons and has taken on the new role following the departure of Joey Coulter, who has decided to leave the club after 1½ seasons in charge.
Jackson joined the Wild midway through their debut 2013/14 season, having played his junior hockey at Hull, and in the intervening 11 years has made 312 appearances in Widnes colours, scoring 17 goals, 70 assists and picking up 389 penalty minutes.
Talking about his appointment, Jackson said:
“When I heard Joey was moving on I was gutted! Joey isn’t just a coach - he’s a good friend to the guys in the locker room, so finding out he’s moving on was a big shock to the system. After speaking to him about his decision, we discussed the idea of me taking over and that’s now becoming a reality. It’s a role in which I will be learning as I go, but I’m open to the challenge ahead of me and I want to build the team around the values I have for the future, not just the here and now.”
“Widnes is the place I’ve called home since an 18 year old boy coming into the game of senior hockey. It’s a place where I’ve felt both success and failure throughout that time, which is part of the fun of ice hockey. My goal is to spend as long coaching as I have playing here and to build something for both the future of the club, and for the fans of old and new to enjoy.”
