Every coach leaves a legacy of the individuals they mentored; their influence ripples throughout their chosen sport. John Dunne, the executive director of the Amateur Hockey Association Illinois (AHAI), thinks the late Jim Clare ’87 had a hand in teaching over 10,000 coaches over the years. Clare’s impact on hockey is more of a tidal wave than a ripple, reaching far beyond Illinois and the Midwest.

Clare served as a director and as Vice President of Coaching and Membership Development at AHAI and was USA Hockey’s ADM Coordinator for Illinois, USA Hockey Associate Coach-in-Chief, and USA Hockey Coach-in-Chief for Illinois, among other roles. When Clare passed away in September 2023 after a courageous battle with cancer, hockey in Illinois, and across the U.S., suffered a great loss.

“Jim’s greatest impact was in the USA Hockey coaching education program,” Dunne said in an interview with the AHAI website. “[He] ran every in-person coach’s clinic in Illinois for four years until the pandemic season. Then, he personally led 75% of the online coaching seminars for USA Hockey.”

In remembrance of his years of service, Jim Clare has been named the 2024 recipient of the Walter Yaciuk Award, which is presented annually by USA Hockey to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the organization’s coaching education program during many years of service as a volunteer. The award is named in honor of the late Walter Yaciuk, who was USA Hockey’s first Coach-In-Chief.

“Our game is in a much better place because we had Jimmy Clare,” Dan Jablonic, Manager of Player Development for USA Hockey. “I can’t think of anybody more well deserving to win our highest coaching award through USA Hockey.”

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Excerpt and image taken from https://www.usahockey.com.