Jill Pohtilla (Minnesota '87), entering her 15th season as Augsburg's women's hockey head coach in 2009-10, has broken plenty of barriers in her athletic career. In that respect, it came as no surprise when she was honored in 1998 by the Minnesota Coalition to Promote Women in Athletic Leadership with its "Breaking Barriers Award" on National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Pohtilla has been a leader in the development of girls' and women's hockey in Minnesota, as a player, coach and tireless advocate.
Pohtilla was hired in 1995 as Augsburg's first women's hockey coach, and in that capacity has worked hard to build the sport among colleges and universities in Minnesota. In 2006, her peers in Minnesota honored her with induction into the Women's Hockey Association of Minnesota (WHAM) Hall of Fame.
She enters the 2009-10 season as one of the winningest coaches in the history of collegiate women's hockey. With a career record of 169-157-27 entering the season, she stands among the top 20 coaches in the history of NCAA?women’s hockey in both wins and winning percentage (.517).
Pohtilla was instrumental in developing the Midwestern Collegiate Women's Hockey Alliance, and later was part of the formulation of women's hockey as a varsity sport in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference -- just the second conference in the nation (and first at the exclusively Division III level) to sponsor the sport.
She was president of the Minnesota Girls' and Women's Hockey Association in 1989-90 and served as secretary/treasurer of the American Women's Hockey Coaches Association from 2000-04. She currently is also a member of the Minnesota Girls’ Hockey Coaches Association, the American Hockey Coaches Association and a lifetime member of the Melopmene Institute. Pohtilla also served from 2000-04 on the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Committee, which oversees the sport’s national championships.
Pohtilla has also been active on the national women's hockey scene. Seven times, most recently in 2008, she has served as a coach at the United States Olympic Women's Hockey Development Camp, coaching teams of 15-16 and 17-18 year olds, one of a handful of coaches selected by former U.S. national team head coach
Ben Smith.
A Plymouth, Minn., native (Wayzata HS), Pohtilla has played ice hockey on all levels for the past two decades, and was a member of the four-time national champion Minnesota Checkers girls' hockey team.
Pohtilla played volleyball and softball at Augustana College (Sioux Falls, S.D.) for three years before transferring to the University of Minnesota, where she graduated in 1987 with degrees in psychology and biology. She served as a high school coach at Anoka and Champlin Park high schools (volleyball, softball and hockey) and volleyball coach at Minnetonka and Wayzata.
USA HOCKEY FEATURE ON JILL POHTILLA
