The Capistrano United Coyotes hockey team finally settled a coaching overhaul by hiring Jean Labbé as head coach, General Manager David Bird announced July 10.
Labbé, 37, takes over from Darren Gardner, who resigned in May to take an assistant coach position at Santa Margarita after guiding the Coyotes to the Division 2A championship in its inaugural season in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League.
“We are very excited to have Jean on board,” said Bird. “Jean communicates very well and has a lot of experience coaching not only at the club level, but at this level too.”
Labbé has coached at the club level for over a decade, and spent the past three seasons as a varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach under Mike Perkins at JSerra High. Three seasons ago, the Lions won the Ducks league championship at the junior varsity level in its first season under Labbé.
Labbé also coaches two teams in the 16AA and Bantam AA divisions for Orange County Hockey Club, and has led at least one of those teams to the state championships the last seven consecutive years.
“I’m really looking forward to the season,” said Labbé. “For sure it’s going to be a challenge, but I think we’ll have a strong team. We’ve got a good group of returners coming back and some strong freshman too, so I think we’ll be competitive again.”
Bird said he considered about a dozen applicants for the job.
“When I hired Darren, I wanted to be creative and think outside the box. I thought in bringing in a former NHL player, kids would read that and it would be great,” said Bird. “This time around, it came down to who knew the kids and how they could find them, and these guys can do that. It was a no-brainer.”
Labbé said he would’ve liked to remain at JSerra, but “I wasn’t able to commit to everything that JSerra was asking from me,” he said.
Labbé and his wife Jenny, a preschool special education teacher at R.H. Dana Elementary School in Dana Point, live in Ladera Ranch with their two sons, Cole and Tanner.
In other Coyotes news, Bird announced the program will field a junior varsity squad this season. Nick Silver will be the team’s head coach, while Joe Hunter will serve as an assistant.
Contact the writer: magarcia@ocregister.com
