New Girls Director, JILLIAN KNAPP-RHODES

We are pleased to announce the new Girls Director for HHHA JILLIAN KNAPP-RHODES!!!

Jillian, a Colorado native, has an impressive background in hockey as a player and coach. She played hockey for Boulder, breaking barriers by competing against boys all the way through Midgets. Jillian then obtained NCAA approval to play for the University of Colorado women’s team and spent her first two years of high school playing for them. Afterward, she played a year at the University of New Hampshire before returning to Colorado to finish her college career playing for the University of Denver women’s club team. At the age of 15, Jillian began her coaching career in Colorado, becoming the first and youngest female certified coach at four different levels. She has coached Mites through her high school career and was acknowledged with the 9 Kids Who Cares Award for her efforts. 

Upon returning to Colorado, she was approached to coach an up-and-coming girls' team. From there, she initiated several girls programs, including the Colorado Xtreme Tier I 15U, which became the first girls team to qualify for Nationals from Colorado for two consecutive years. Simultaneously, she founded the DUYH Girls program, which won the first Mountain State Girls Hockey League Championships. Jillian also coached the University of Colorado Women's team for two seasons in the first year of the ACHA, placing 7th in the Nation. Additionally, she has coached for 7 years at Longmont Hockey, focusing on developing hockey players from mini-mites to midgets. During her time there, she also served as the SafeSport Director. Jillian later returned to coach girls' hockey at Monarch HPHL and then moved to Hyland to coach the 15U Lady Jags for the last three years.