"We are excited to have someone of Tim's caliber join our staff," said Val Belmonte, director of athletics at Union. "Tim is a true coaching educator and he brings a diverse background to the College and our women's hockey program."

In addition to his coaching background, Gerrish is a respected author and authority on coaching. He has been featured in several hockey coaching videos and has presented world-wide at coaching conferences and conventions."With his passion for education and knowledge of the game, Tim will blend into the fabric of Union and will have an immediate impact on our program," said Belmonte.

"Tim has dedicated a large part of his career to furthering the game of women's hockey and he is especially passionate about developing young female coaches," said Belmonte. "One of the things that Tim stressed during the interview process was how much he looked forward to mentoring his assistants, including current Union assistant coach Laura Hays, with the idea of developing more women head coaches for the future of the game."

Gerrish takes over from Fred Quistgard, who resigned as head coach after six years with the program.

While working with the National Team, Gerrish recently served as an assistant men's hockey coach at Middlebury College, helping lead the Panthers to a 27-3 record and the 2004 NCAA Division III national title. Prior to assisting his good friend Bill Beaney at Middlebury, Gerrish served as head coach of the men's ice hockey team at North Country (N.Y.) Community College for 24 years before retiring in 2002.

Gerrish's experience with USA Hockey includes helping guide the 1996 U.S. Women's Select Team to a silver medal as an assistant coach at the 1996 Pacific Women's Hockey Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as an assistant coach for the silver medal-winning 2001 U.S. Women's National Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championship in Minneapolis, Minn. In November 2002, Gerrish assisted Head Coach Ben Smith as the 2002 U.S. Women's Select Team earned a silver medal at the 2002 Four Nations Cup in Kitchener, Ontario.

"Nobody has spent more time with the national women's program than Tim and he has been a tremendous asset to me and the players he has worked with over the years," said Smith. "Iam sure that Tim's move to Union will inspire great confidence for the program. The players at Union are lucky to have such a great coach and a great person leading them into the future."

Most recently, he served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's Select Team at the 2003 Four Nations Cup, in Skvde, Sweden.The U.S. team won the gold medal, marking the first time that Gerrish has been a member of the staff for a National or Select Team that has captured that honor.

Gerrish also served as the head coach of one of four teams at the 2003 USA Hockey Women's National Festival,held Aug. 12-18 in Lake Placid, N.Y. This marked his second consecutive coaching appearance at the Women's National Festival. In August, Gerrish was an assistant coach for the Under-22 Women's Select Team that defeated Canada in the annual three game series.

Gerrish has served as a goaltending evaluator and coach with several other U.S. Women's National Teams prior to World Championship and Olympic competition, as well as USA Hockey Women's National Festivals and camps. He will maintain his position and activity with the national program while serving as Union's head coach.

Union recently completed their first season as a Division I member of the prestigious ECAC Hockey League after competing for four seasons as a Division III program. Similar to their Ivy League counterparts in the ECAC, Union does not offer athletic scholarships.