Air Force Academy

Derek Schooley

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Position: Associate Head Coach

Derek Schooley is in his fifth year with the Falcon hockey team. He was the assistant coach for his first four seasons and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2002-03 season. Schooley coaches the Falcon defense that has broken the school record for goals-against average in two of the last three seasons. The team's GAA of 2.91 in 2000-01 broke the record of 3.18 set in 1999-2000. He has coached the Falcon defense to three of the top five goals-against averages in school history. Along with leading the defense, Schooley assists with the nation-wide recruiting efforts.

Schooley came to the Academy from Cornell where he was an assistant coach for one year. He and head coach Frank Serratore first joined forces with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League in 1990. Schooley was the Lancer defenseman of the year and a second-team all-star while Serratore coached the team to a 49-13 record and the regular season and playoff championship. Schooley was the USHL's top scoring defenseman with 50 points in 48 games in 1990.

A 1994 graduate of Western Michigan, Schooley earned a bachelor of science degree in communications. He was listed in the Who's Who Among Students of United States Universities and Colleges in 1993. Schooley was a Mid-American Conference academic honor roll selection from 1992-94.

A four-year letterman as a defenseman at WMU, Schooley tallied 23 assists and 27 points in 40 games with the Broncos as a senior. He earned CCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors on Feb. 4-5, 1994. In 1993-94, he earned the KOHA Grinder of the Year award and led the team in plus-minus ratio with a +22.

Following graduation from WMU, he played for the Huntington (W.V) Blizzard of the ECHL in 1994-95. Schooley played 66 games with the Blizzard and tallied 18 points and 151 penalty minutes. In 1995-96, Schooley spent part of the season with the ECHL's Blizzard and then joined the Flint (Mich.) Generals where he helped the team to a Colonial Hockey League championship. During the 1996-97 season, Schooley played for the Pensacola Ice Pilots and the Peoria Rivermen of the ECHL. He served as an assistant coach and director of scouting for the Chicago Freeze of the North American Hockey League in 1997.

In the summer of 2001, Schooley was a head coach at the USA Hockey Select 14 and Select 15 Festival. He has spoken at USA Hockey youth coaching clinics in Boulder, Colo., Jackson Hole, Wyo., Phoenix, Ariz., and Dallas, Texas.

In August, Schooley gained some international experience as he was named an assistant coach with the 2002 United States Under-18 Select Team which placed fifth in the Junior World Cup, Aug. 12-18, in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Schooley is married to the former Alicia Batson from Middleville, Mich. The couple lives in Colorado Springs.

The Schooley File

Year at Air Force: 5th
Career Year: 7th
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
Alma Mater: Western Michigan
Year: 1994