Mr. Mike Traggio ’91, P’20,’22,’26, director  of  the  Forrest  E.  Mars Jr.  Athletic  Center,  has  spent over two decades as a part of the school’s athletic program. A former professional hockey player in Italy and  Brown  University  graduate, Mr. Traggio developed youth and adult hockey in San Jose before returning  to  Hotchkiss.  He  has served as head and assistant coach for the Boys Varsity Hockey team, leading them for ten seasons.

What is a favorite memory from your time at the school?

There were some Sundays in the spring when we would have torrential  rain,  and  everyone would go out mud sliding on the golf course. It was just chaos; we were running all over the place. I was driving back up the hill the other day, and that memory popped into my head. We also used to have trays in the Dining Hall, so on winter days, we would do something similar, where we would take trays from the dining hall and go sledding out on the golf course.

What was your favorite course at the school?

My friend Steve DelPrete ’91 and I both took four years of a Drama tech course. We built sets for plays and were involved in production for each play, whether it was running scenes in and out of the fly rail or lighting cues.

What did you do after graduation?

I went to Brown where I played hockey, and then went on to play in northern Italy. Towards the end of the season, I ended up getting hurt and went back to San Jose for surgery. Afterwards, I tried to figure out what to do: keep playing or find a job. I decided to work at the Sharks’ practice facility in San Jose. I worked there for  seven  years  before  coming back out here.

After the construction of the

Mars  Athletic  Center,  I  was invited  to  help  run  the  new building. This is my twenty-third year at the school.

What does your typical day look like?

I  work  on  maintaining  the building, and getting the general public  on  campus  using  the facilities.  I  often  work  with maintenance  technicians  Jean Lachaine and Philipe Perez. I’ve known Jean for a while; he was here when I was a student. I work with  them  mainly  on  building maintenance. I  also  work  with  Dempsey Quinn,  director  of  athletics, and  Amber  Jordan,  athletics operations  manager,  on  what’s happening  schedule-wise—what we have coming up and who’s got to be where. Another  part  of  what  I  do is  working  with  the  local community,  trying  to  organize the  town  recreation  programs, walking programs, and rentals in the building.

What sports have you coached during your time at the school?

I have been involved with the hockey  team  for  twenty-two years. I was an assistant coach for nine years, head coach for ten years, and now, for the last three years,  I’ve  been  an  assistant again.I  have  also  coached  youth hockey teams for my kids. I took a step back from intense coaching when my older kids went off to play college sports, so now I am able to see them play and don’t have to focus as much on what’s going on here.