Kush Sidhu — Head Coach

Coach Kush will be entering his 21st year in women's ice hockey this Fall, having served the game in many capacities.  Kush started out as an Assistant Coach at Northeastern University in 1988 and in his 4 years there, helped the Huskies reach the Final Four each season - including a National title in 1989. Several players from those teams went on to represent the US and Canadian Olympic Teams. Kush also served as a Coach with the USA Hockey Women's Development Program from 1989 to 1995.  This included terms with the US National Team as the goalie coach for the 1990 Women's World Championships in Ottawa, and as a training camp Coach for the 1992 and 1994 National Teams in Lake Placid, NY.  He subsequently served as: Massachusetts District Girls Head Coach, Southeast District Girl’s Representative, Southeast District Girls Head Coach, and National, Regional, and District player evaluator. Kush participated in USA Hockey's Coaches Program of Merit twice and was certified as a Master Level Coach in 1992.

After leaving the college ranks and relocating to the Washington, DC area in 1993, Kush formed the regions first ‘travel’ girls hockey program which gave DC area players their first opportunity to compete with more experienced girls in the Northeast.  This program, now called 'The Washington Pride', has helped many girls move on to college hockey programs from the Washington DC area.  It also kick-started the growth of girls hockey throughout the Southeast.  Kush's teams have represented the Southeast District at every USA Hockey National Championship since 1993. 

Kush also started the RinkSport High Performance Female Hockey Program (www.rinksport.com) in 1993, and continues to direct the program each summer.  The camps have operated all over North America, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Vancouver, and also in Chamonix, France.  In 2009, the camp was held at the University of Rhode Island and featured 20 NCAA coaches on staff along with 240 participants.  The RinkSport camp has proven to be very popular with college scouts and college prospects alike, as the camps have filled to capacity within days after opening registration.

In the 2007-2008, Kush co-founded the Junior Women's Hockey League (JWHL) which is the first known 'Junior' style hockey league for females.  What started out with only 4 teams, has now grown to 10 of the top teams in the US and Canada at the U19 'Prep' level, and 6 teams at the U17 'Red' level.  The JWHL's flagship event, the 'JWHL Challenge Cup', is now regarded as one of North America's top girls hockey tournaments, and is sponsored by the NHL's Washington Capitals. 

Kush's focus on quality and commitment to excellence has paid off for his players. Nearly every Pride graduate has been offered a position on an NCAA Varsity program.   Many alumnae have been selected as captains of their college teams, and many have been invited to participate in the US National Team development program.  Two players have made the US Under-18 program, and 3 alums have made the US Under-22 teams and many players have received Conference, Student-Athlete, and Player of the Week awards. A few have also won NCAA National Championships! Most impressive is that all alumnae have either earned their degrees or are on track to do so.  Some have moved on to graduate/professional schools and others now work full time in government, finance, or education.

Christian Yngve — Associate Coach

This is Christian's 7th season with the Pride after spending 12 years with the Swedish Women's National Team program, culminating with a Bronze medal in the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games.  'Lillen' also served as Team Sweden's Assistant Coach at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games. 

Christian spent one season as the Pride's Interim Head Coach, and led the team to a third place finish at the USA Hockey National Championships.  In addition to his duties with the Pride U19's, he serves as the Head Coach for the U16 Junior Pride which plays in the JWHL 'Red' Division.  Christian is also the Director of Girls Hockey for the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association and runs the USA Hockey Southeast District Girls' Development Camp. 

Christian is regarded as one hockey’s brightest talents. He played at the University of Minnesota and has spent time as a Volunteer Coach at Cornell University. Several of his players from Sweden are currently playing collegiate ice hockey in the US.

(Lillen means 'tiny' in Swedish).

Jim Fox has been the Pride's Strength and Conditioning Coach for the past 5 seasons.  He operates the Infusion Strength and Conditioning center in the Rockville Arena, where Pride players work out twice-weekly.  Before the Pride, Jim spent 10 years as the Strength and Conditioning coach for the NHL's Washington Capitals. Jim has begun developing various programs for the team.  Some of Jim's experience includes:

• Head Strength Coach, Washington Capitals, National Hockey League - 2003-2004
• Assistant Strength Coach, Washington Capitals, 1992-2002.
• Worked closely with the Caps' 1998 Eastern Conference Championship Team.
• Worked with the Portland Pirates (Washington Capitals minor league affiliate), on their strength and conditioning programs, as well as working with the team during the preseason.
• Head Strength Coach, American University, 1996-2001.  Developed strength and conditioning programs for 19 varsity teams.
• Worked with notable players such as Brendan Witt, Jeff Halpern, Olie Kolzig, Michael Nylander, Michael Pivonka, Mark Tinordi, Brian Bellows, and Jan Bullis.