When Steve Morris took over as Amherst’s first hockey coach in 2002, little did he know what would come next.
Twenty-three years later with a three-year gap with no team and a pandemic in between, Morris joined elite company Dec. 12 as the seventh coach in state history to win 400 games. The Comets defeated Hudson at Kent State Ice Arena, 3-2.
“I don’t think you ever think of that,” Morris said. “I didn’t really realize until a few weeks ago we were close to 400. It has been a great run and a lot of fun. It’s just great to be able to show the program has been very viable. Hopefully, it’s helped a lot of hockey players that have come through. I think everyone needs to celebrate, and anybody that has been a part of the program should celebrate. It’s definitely not a one-man show.”
It might not be a one-man show, but Morris has excelled when it comes to hockey. He had a legendary playing career at Miami University from 1979-83. Over 40 years later, he is still the program’s all-time leader in career points and assists. He was inducted into the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.
When Morris took the head coaching job at Amherst, all he wanted to do was give back to the sport. His wife Jan is from Amherst, and giving back is where the journey started. Now over two decades later, Morris is still the only head coach in program history.
“When we first got married, we lived in Michigan and Minnesota. We moved back, and we had been there for a while,” Morris said. “The opportunity came for the high school coaching job. I saw it as an opportunity to give back to the sport and to the community we were living in and where she was from. I never thought we would hang around for 20 years doing it. That’s not on your mind. It’s been wonderful.”
Looking back at the program’s inception in 2002, Avon athletic director Erich Frombach remembers it well. Frombach held the same position at Amherst at the time and got a good look at why Morris and the Comets have been so successful.
“I remember we had a group of parents that were really enthusiastic about the sport,” Frombach said. “They came in and they had a guy (to coach). I didn’t know who that guy was. Little did I know that we were going to get one of the best hockey coaches in the state of Ohio to run our program. He was there to build a program, and that’s what he did.”
Morris had Amherst hockey operating at a high level with several deep playoff runs. However, the program took a three-year hiatus from 2013-2016 due to a lack of numbers.
With the program’s future uncertain, Morris assumed his coaching career was over. However, another group of invested parents resurrected it.
“There was no real thought that I would come back and do it,” Morris said. “Again, I think it all fell into place. It was very similar to the first time around in 2002. It just sort of fell into place, and it was good to have the program back.”
Current Amherst athletic director Casey Wolf arrived in 2013-14 when there was no hockey team. The ball started rolling to bring it back when he met with Dan Kramer, who is now an assistant coach.
Wolf didn’t have to look far for a good coaching candidate..
“My first three years, we did not have hockey,” Wolf said. “Dan Kramer came and met with me. That’s when his oldest Jacob was getting ready to come into the high school. He told me the numbers were going to be a little low, but it’s going to grow from here. I just said, ‘Well, sounds like no time like the present to get it back.’ We brought it back that year, and my first call was to Steve.
“Steve and I had never met. I didn’t know him at all. His first thing was to see if he could get the old band back together. There was no other call to make than to Steve.”
Amherst hockey had become a family affair by that point. Steve’s son Connor (2013 Amherst grad) was the state’s all-time leading scorer with 406 points until Dan Kramer’s son Jacob (2020 Amherst grad) broke the record with 471. Two Comets remain at the top of the state leaderboard.
Aimee Bielozer – For The Morning Journal
Amherst’s Jacob Kramer tries to maneuver around an Avon Lake defender on Feb. 16, 2020. (Morning Journal file)
In a full circle moment, Connor is now one of Steve’s assistant coaches.
“It’s wonderful,” Coach Morris said. “It’s a great opportunity to have that. Connor’s been wonderful. It makes it enjoyable. It makes you want to come. Not a lot of dads get that opportunity to work with their son. Watching him and the other coaches mature and take over more responsibility has been great.”
Morris’ hockey resume won’t be forgotten anytime soon. His impact at Miami and Amherst will continue to be felt for years to come.
A milestone such as 400 wins deserves to be celebrated, but coaching means much more to Morris than his accolades.
“I just think it’s an opportunity to work with student-athletes that want to get better and you hopefully have a positive influence on,” Morris said. “You push them and make them work hard, and hopefully it translates after high school. Making them better hockey players is easy, but you get the joy and satisfaction of trying to make them better people and watching them go on to future success later in life.”