Rod Aldoff Retires After 9 Seasons as Ice Flyers Head Coach
Pensacola, Fla. (June 14, 2023) – The Pensacola Ice Flyers have announced that head coach Rod Aldoff will be retiring after nine seasons with the team.
In a statement, Aldoff said, “It has been a great honor to be the head coach of the Ice Flyers. Since coming to Pensacola in 2013, the city, fans, and the entire Ice Flyers organization have welcomed me with open arms and made me feel a part of this great city and organization. While I have enjoyed my time here and have made countless memories and friends, it is in the best interest of my family that I make the difficult decision to no longer coach the Ice Flyers.”
Ice Flyers Owner Greg Harris added, “We wish nothing but the best for Rod and his family and can’t thank him enough for what he’s done here. Rod came in and set the tone immediately in his first season. It’s not easy for a new coach to come to a team after winning a championship under another coach, however, that season, he won Coach of the Year, a regular season championship and a decisive SPHL championship to take our organization back-to-back. Everyone in sports knows that winning back-to-back titles is hard enough, but what he did was take it to a completely different level.”
Aldoff took over as head coach in 2013 and led the team to an overall regular season record of 237-154-54 (.593) and an overall post-season record of 22-11 (.667). He won three SPHL championships, the first in 2014 after the Ice Flyers won their first championship in 2013. Aldoff followed that up with another championship in 2016, and then assembled a remarkable team during the SPHL’s COVID season in 2020-21 that brought Pensacola its fourth SPHL championship.
Aldoff thanked the city of Pensacola and the loyal fans for being so supportive of him and the Ice Flyers. “I also want to say thank you to my players for their hard work and professionalism every day,” Aldoff stated. “I’m proud of the fact that with your great play and effort, we were able to win three championships during my time here. All the players, past and present, contributed to our success on and off the ice.”
Harris expressed how Aldoff was a significant component to the Ice Flyers’ success, and that he went beyond molding their guys as players but as people as well. “He wanted more out of our players than just what everyone saw on the ice,” Harris said. “So many players have told me over the years how much Rod’s leadership and principles have made them into better men both personally and professionally.”
Aldoff talked about his gratitude for everyone a part of the Ice Flyers organization. “I would also like to thank the hockey ops staff and front office staff for all their hard work. Your dedication made my job much easier. Lastly, I cannot thank Greg enough. He gave me opportunity to become a professional hockey coach and we had a shared vision of how the team should operate on and off the ice. Greg is a great leader of the team, and it was an honor to work for him. He has been very good to myself, and my family and I will always consider him a good friend.”
“I had a coach who thought exactly the way I thought and who shared the same vision of what I wanted the Ice Flyers organization to be,” Harris stated. “And when you have the synergy we had, success was sure to follow. Without Rod Aldoff, the Ice Flyers are not what they are today.”
Aldoff concluded, “I wish the Ice Flyers continued success and I will always be their biggest fan. Go Ice Flyers!”
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