Jeff Boettger, shown instructing the Division I men's hockey team during a game in 2021, helped develop the program to higher levels over the past 20-plus seasons. (Photo by Ellie Richardson)
Boettger stepping down as DI men’s hockey Associate Head Coach, staying on as Club Sports’ Deputy AD
4/1/2025 3:15:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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An icon behind the bench for the Flames for the past 20 seasons, Jeff Boettger will focus on continuing to develop the Club Sports department while spending more time with his family.
After serving on the staff of Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team for the past 20-plus years, Associate Head Coach Jeff Boettger announced on Tuesday that he will vacate his coaching role while continuing to serve as Club Sports Deputy Athletic Director.
"I've worked as a coach with Liberty's men's hockey team since January 2005, and it has been a wonderful opportunity," said Boettger, who was introduced to the program by former Flames goalie and goalie coach Dalton Stoltz in Fall 2004 and started working toward his M.A. in Communication the following spring before graduating in 2007, the year he married his wife, Sarah. "The experience with Liberty Hockey has been a special one, and we have seen a lot of change, a lot of growth in those 20 years."
Jeff Boettger stands with is wife Sarah and their children Ava (left) and Tye. (Submitted photo)
He expressed his desire to spend more time with Sarah, an associate professor in Liberty's College of Applied Studies & Academic Support (CASAS), and two children — Ava, now a high school freshman, and Tye, a middle school student.
"Over the last year, I've been praying, talking with different people, seeking family direction as we've been seeing our kids grow like weeds over the past few years, and I felt more and more every day in my gut that I had to have more time to spend with my daughter and son and wife," Boettger said, noting coaching on top of his full-time position in Club Sports required an additional 10-12 hours of commitment on weekends in season, even for home series. "That's all they've ever known. It's been a blessing and a choice, and I love working with the coaching staff. I am super thankful, and super excited. I'm sure I'll miss it in the fall, but at the same time this is what God's put on my heart and there's going to be some new experiences."
Those include attending more of Ava's travel volleyball tournaments and Tye's various sporting events as he is active in the Lynchburg Coyotes Youth Hockey Association as well as area lacrosse and soccer leagues.
"I look forward to being more involved in that sphere, with school activities, the Lynchburg Coyotes," he said. "It is an exciting time of life and I love the engagement and fun that goes along with the age group that they are in. This will give me a bit more capacity and space to keep my mind engaged at home."
He said the DI men's hockey program, which has qualified for 17 ACHA National Championship tournaments in 19 seasons competing at that level and reached its third Final Four in the past five seasons in March, is building momentum for continued success.
"Liberty Hockey's at a great place, in great hands, and I am excited, and a little sad, to be leaving at this time," Boettger said. "I am excited to see how God leads them. Me stepping away is an opportunity to introduce some fresh ways of looking at things and doing things a little differently. Both the team and the program are at a unique place. In all my years, we have only missed nationals two times. Beyond that, we have seen lives changed, a combination of us pouring into them, and always a team effort in sharing life together."
Boettger coached 20 seasons on the DI men's staff.
Club Sports Athletic Director Kirk Handy, who just finished his 25th season as head coach of the DI men's hockey team, said Boettger has been a tremendous resource behind the bench for games and on the ice in practices.
"He has been unbelievable, and words can't paint a picture of what he's meant not only for our hockey program and the alumni that have come through our program, but for Liberty University as a whole," Handy said. "He was instrumental in starting the team's overseas mission trips and instrumental in working toward what the program is today."
He said when Boettger joined him on staff, the program had been around for 20 seasons, but was still in its infancy.
"He came with no rink on campus; we were playing in Roanoke and he came with us selling a vision of what Liberty Hockey could be," Handy said. "Now, 20 years later, Liberty has five hockey programs — three men's and two women's — and we have seen incredible growth in our program with hundreds of lives impacted through Jeff and the ministry he's had through coaching."
Boettger consults with Kirk Handy (right) and Assistant Coach Daniel Berthiaume.
He noted Boettger was at his side when the Club Sports program was launched in 2008 with six teams and 90 student-athletes, growing steadily over the past 17 years to more than 700 student-athletes on more than 40 teams.
"Him and I have worked together on that side of things for many years and seen God's hand and incredible growth in our department, and Jeff's going to continue with that," Handy said. "He's been my lifeline, a big part of the foundation of what we've done here. The most powerful impact he's had is using the platform God's given us in hockey to impact lives and glorify God in doing it."
He said he could see Boettger returning to the coaching staff at some point, an idea Boettger hasn't ruled out.
"That's hard to say, and it would be easy to say, 'Yes,' because we'd love for him to," Handy said. "We will see what God has for him in the future."
Boettger plans to remain available as an advisor and advocate for the coaches and players alike.
"I will still be there for them to help with whatever the need is, going on a recruiting trip or taking on a practice, as it is still a big part of my heart for Liberty," he said. "Club Sports, and the hockey team, were what first drew me to the school. Maybe I'll have a different type of role with the team, and be able to engage more as an athletic director with Club Sports, inviting guys over to get to know them or be available as a mirror at work, getting to know our coaches and our staff even better and having a chance to serve them at another level, to ask them questions about life."
He may also be interested in playing a larger role in the future with FCA Hockey, which relocated from Alexandria, Minn., to Lynchburg, Va., in September.
"I have always been somebody who has a passion for combining a love of a sport with ministry," Boettger said, noting his son traveled to FCA camps and tournaments in Minnesota and Boston over the past two summers. "Whatever we do needs to be a platform for sharing the love of Jesus (and) I could see coming alongside them and serving in a greater capacity — not becoming a staff member but getting more engaged. I love that they're here and love what they're doing with the youth hockey and how they approach their outreach."
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterBoettger served as an on-ice instructor for a multitude of Liberty Hockey Summer Camps, including this one in 2019. (Photo by KJ Jugar)
