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Vellucci to coach Wildcats

By Dan O'Meara, 06/18/13, 10:00AM EDT

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Hockey coach leaves Falcons for Novi High


Vellucci

 
 
 

Farmington High School is searching for a new varsity hockey coach following the recent resignation of Mark Vellucci.

He accepted the offer to coach Novi High School's team earlier this month, replacing Todd Krygier, who left that position to coach in the Compuware travel program.

Vellucci and his wife, Jennifer, live in Novi with their two young children, Sarah and Jacob. He cited that as the primary reason for making the switch.

A 1990 graduate of Farmington High, Vellucci said he had no plans to leave his post with the Falcons, otherwise. It was just a matter of a close-to-home opportunity presenting itself when it did.

“It was mainly a family decision,” Vellucci said, adding he lives five minutes from the school and Novi Ice Arena. “It came about real quick. Todd Krygier is a real good friend. He let me know sometime in March he was going to resign. I thought long and hard about it. I talked it over with Jennifer and decided to apply for the job.

“It is hard to leave Farmington after being there the better part of 12 years and building a program. I only lost four seniors at Farmington this year, and I knew we were going to have a good group of kids coming in; so Farmington is going to have a really good team next year.

“I made a decision and, fortunately, I was hired in Novi. I'm happy and sad at same time. I'm eager to start at Novi and keep the program successful there. At the same time, it's sad to leave Farmington where I met a lot of great people and coached a lot of great young men and players.”

Novi has a strong program and is a member of one of the best hockey leagues in the state — the Kensington Lakes Activities Association.

Novi won the Division 1 state championship in 2011, and Brighton has won it the last two years. Livonia Stevenson won the Division 2 title the past season over fellow league member Hartland.

That history, the appeal of the Novi coaching job and such things as a state-of-the-art locker room were minor factors in his decision, Vellucci said.

“The biggest factor for me leaving Farmington is that it will be better in the long run for me and my family,” he said. “All the other stuff was small potatoes.

“I think it's one of the top public school coaching positions in the state, right up there with Brighton. It was kind of a no-brainer for me to at least apply and go for it.”

FPS records

Vellucci, who is the younger brother of Plymouth Whalers coach Mike Vellucci, had a record of 184-88-15 in his 11 seasons as a Farmington Public Schools coach.

He took over the Farmington Unified program in 2001 and was 87-34-9 in five seasons with the district's combined, three-school team.

Vellucci took a leave of absence during the 2006-07 season when the team split into two, and he returned the following fall to coach Farmington High. The Falcons were 97-54-6 in six seasons under Vellucci, including a 15-10-1 finish the last one.

His 2003 unified team went 24-0 in the regular season and lost to Catholic Central, the eventual state champion, in the first game of the postseason tournament.

Vellucci had his most successful Farmington team in 2008. The Falcons went 26-2-1, won OAA and regional titles and lost to Midland in a Division 2 state semifinal. Farmington also was 22-4-0 in 2011 and was a regional runner-up to Trenton.

While he continues to work toward a degree in education and teaching certificate, Vellucci works as a full-time youth hockey referee, coach and “being a Mr. Mom.”

FHS vs. NHS

The Wildcats, who were 11-15-1 last season, and Falcons are scheduled to play early next season in the second round of the Metro High School Invitational at Novi Ice Arena.

Vellucci said he plans to keep current Novi assistant coaches Jim Lewis and Travis Malott on his staff.

Vellucci's fondest memories of coaching the Falcons include “going undefeated and playing CC in front of 5,000 people at Compuware Arena and the '08 team that went to the semifinals.

“To be honest, ever year was special in its own way. Every team is different. I still talk to kids from all the teams I've coached. I stay in contact and have been to a couple of their weddings.

“I had 13 great years with the Farmington program (including as an assistant coach). I'm going to miss it immensely, but I'm also excited for the adventure in Novi. I'm always going to wish the Falcons the best and even the Flyers.”