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Elizabeth Wulf brings skill, warmth, and easygoing energy as coach of USJ’s new women’s Ice Hockey program
Long before she was building a collegiate program, Elizabeth Wulf was a second grader darting across a gym floor with a hockey stick — already showing the instincts that would shape her future. After watching her zip around, hockey stick in hand, Mamaroneck High School Ice Hockey Coach Mike Chiapparelli told her mother, “You have to put her on skates.”
Taking his advice, her parents signed Elizabeth and her twin sister Eve up for figure skating classes. For Wulf, it was anything but a perfect fit.
“I did not like figure skating — I hid under the bleachers during those sessions,” Wulf said. “All the fancy outfits and the hair and makeup were not my thing — I mean, what figure skaters do is incredible. But I wanted a team sport, and I wanted the helmet and all the hockey equipment.”
Her parents soon enrolled her in a “Learn to Play Hockey” program and she has never looked back. From youth hockey leagues to high school and collegiate competition, Wulf’s passion for the sport only grew. Over time, that passion evolved into a love of coaching.
“I had great coaches growing up. They are the ones that kept me going and are why I’m still in hockey today,” she said. “I want to be that same kind of coach at USJ.” That approach is already evident on campus.
I had great coaches growing up. They are the ones that kept me going and are why I’m still in hockey today. I want to be that same kind of coach at USJ.
Elizabeth Wulf
Wulf’s mentoring style, warmth, and easygoing energy have been on full display as she connects with students and colleagues across the University.
“The first thing that really struck me was the sense of family here. It just feels like home,” she said.
During a recent visit to the Gengras Center, she broke the ice with a group of students by organizing an impromptu game of floor hockey.
“The students were amazing. I felt like I was getting back to my roots,” said Wulf.
“Elizabeth’s passion and her commitment to developing student-athletes made her the clear choice to launch our USJ women’s ice hockey program,” said Associate Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Amanda Devitt. “Her proven track record of success — both as a standout student-athlete at Middlebury and as a coach at Wesleyan and UConn — speaks for itself.”
Living and breathing sports
Wulf comes from a family that lives and breathes sports. Her parents, Steve and Jane, met while working as writers at Sports Illustrated. Her two older brothers played baseball, while Elizabeth and her sister played softball and soccer.
Even in a household steeped in athletics, hockey stood apart.
“I love that hockey is a fast paced game. I love the competition and the teamwork involved. I even love the little things, like the sound you hear when your blade cuts into the ice,” she said.
With no girl’s ice hockey teams near her hometown, she became the first girl to play on a boy’s youth team, the Mamaroneck Tigers. She later joined girl’s hockey leagues over the state line in Connecticut where more opportunities were available, eventually playing hockey at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville and during her four years at Middlebury College in Vermont.
At Middlebury, Wulf majored in neuroscience. “I liked learning how the brain works — the science behind it, where emotions come from, what motivates people,” she said.
That academic background now informs her approach to coaching.
Coaching isn’t one-size-fits-all. There are different learning styles, different communication styles, and different ways to motivate people so that they are in a position to succeed. My philosophy is that I’m here to both serve and support the team as much as possible.
Elizabeth Wulf
“Coaching isn’t one-size-fits-all. There are different learning styles, different communication styles, and different ways to motivate people so that they are in a position to succeed,” she explained. “My philosophy is that I’m here to both serve and support the team as much as possible. I want them to know I’m going to push and challenge them, but that is because I care about them as people first, and I believe in them. My goal is to empower them to take ownership, gain independence, and advocate for themselves.”
After college, Wulf spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Division III Wesleyan University, helping to guide them to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament in her first season.
Before arriving at USJ, she spent four and a half seasons at the University of Connecticut, where she was part of back-to-back Hockey East Regular Season Championships (2023- 24, 2024-25) and helped guide the Huskies to the program’s first Hockey East Tournament Championship. She also played a key role in recruiting.
Building something new
Now, Wulf is channeling that experience into building USJ’s program from the ground up.
“It’s exciting to be able to promote a new program,” she said. “USJ has added several athletic programs in the last few years, so they know what it takes to build a program. But there are times when you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to recruit an entire team by the fall!”
Wulf needn’t have worried — she recruited a full roster.
A key factor in that early success has been campus visits where prospective students experience both the program and its setting firsthand.
“I love to see the reactions when people arrive at USJ,” she said. “The campus sells itself, it’s a beautiful hidden gem.”
