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WLC 16U National Team Announces Duante' Abercrombie as Head Coach

By WLC Staff, 04/12/18, 2:00PM EDT

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The Little Caps are pleased to announce Duante' Abercrombie as the Head Coach of the 16U National Team.  Duante’ was born and raised in Washington, DC, and is excited to join the Little Caps.  “There’s an energy around the Little Caps that’s undeniable,” offers Duante’.  “The organization’s foundation is very strong, and with the addition of the new owners and hockey director, the Little Caps are poised to position themselves as one of the premier development clubs in youth hockey. It was a no brainer deciding that this was something that I had to be apart of.”

Coach Duante’ is an alumnus of Gonzaga College High School (Class of 2005), where he helped Gonzaga win 3 MSHL/ MAPHL Championships, multiple Purple Puck Championships, and numerous games over nationally ranked prep school programs, as a player ('01- '05) and a coach ('08- '13).  He is currently coaching his second season at Georgetown Preparatory School, and in his first year, he helped lead his team to its first IAC Championship in many years.

Hockey has taken Coach Duante' around the world.  He has trained throughout the United States and Canada, and has played parts of 3 professional seasons in Auckland, New Zealand, Pittsburgh, PA, and Brewster, NY.  He has trained with some of the top stars in the NHL, and he has personally trained numerous AAA, Prep, Junior, NCAA, and Pro players.  It was during this time training at BTNL (Oakville, Ontario) and Twist (Whitby, Ontario) that he developed an appreciation for skill development.  Coach Duante' is a rising star in the hockey development scene, having been the senior instructor with his mentor Graeme Townshend’s (former NHL player and coach) hockey school for the past 3 years. 

“We are so pleased to add to the Little Caps family a man like Duante,” states Hockey Director Matt Thomas.  “Talk to him for five minutes and you can feel his excitement and energy for this job.  His ability to develop players is a great asset to our organization, and particularly for our 16U team during this critical stage.   Duante and the 16U team will have my full support and attention as we work to develop our players into quality junior and college recruits.  I look forward to working with Duante to help our talented group of 16U players advance their careers.”

When asked about his plans for the coming season, Coach Duante’ had this for his players: “My plan is to teach my players how to use their individual skills within a team structure that not only leads to eventual team success on the scoresheet, but also prepares them individually for what’s expected at the next levels.  Having scouted and been a skills consultant at the ACHA and NCAA levels, I will spend time developing the skills and habits that junior programs and colleges look for, and my ultimate goal is to teach them how to play the game with a “Winning Attitude” all the time.”

Welcome Coach Duante’!