meet the coaches
casey rooney
Casey grew up in Colorado Springs playing for Pikes Peak Tigers hockey program. He then moved to Minnesota to play for High School at Hill-Murray. Casey then played one year of juniors for East Metro Lakers.
Casey started his coaching career training goalies with Prohybrid Training from 2008 - 2014 along with Gentry Academy working under Sean Skinner from 2014-2015. Casey started ReadReact Hockey May 2015. SInce then, Casey has hosted camps in Italy, China, Kazakhstan.
Some notable players Casey has worked include: Chaz & Cruz Lucius, Conner Kurth, Issac Howard, Ryan Chesley, Will Schimek, Bennet Schimek, Jake Sondreal, Zach Sondreal, Cam Berg, Nick Pierre, Conner Smith, JJ Wiebusch, Josie St. Martin, Lindzi Avar, Gordon Diefel, Peter Thome, Matiss Kivlenieks, Josie Bothun, and more!
AJ Bucchino
A.J. is currently the Director of Operations for ReadReact Hockey. Prior, he was the VP of Athletics and Director of Hockey Operations for Breakaway Academy. He has spent four years with the Minnesota Magicians in the North American Hockey League. During his time with the Magicians, he served two years as Head Coach and General Manager and two years as President and General Manager. Before the Magicians, A.J. was the Head Coach at Lakeville South High School in Lakeville, MN, for three seasons. During his time at Lakeville South, the team earned an opportunity to participate in the Minnesota State High School Tournament in 2017. He has also owned several hockey programs over the past 15 years.
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Before A.J. began his coaching career, he played four seasons of professional hockey in the East Coast Hockey League, Central Hockey League, and Southern Professional Hockey League. Born in White Plains, New York, he began his playing career attending Tilton and Avon Old Farms Prep School. A.J. then finished high school in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers. After a season at the University of New Hampshire, A.J. transferred to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he was a two-time NCAA All-American helping his team win two WIAC Championships (2006 and 2007) and one NCHA Championship (2007).
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AJ graduated with a B.S. in Communication from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and has a Masters of Arts in Sports Management. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Sports Psychology (PsyD). AJ currently resides in Prescott, WI with his wife, Danielle and children, Rocco, Reyna and Rose.
Emilie Brigham
Emilie Brigham is a recent graduate of the University of Maine where she played four years of NCAA Division I hockey as a Black Bear. She captained the team in her junior and senior seasons and was a three time UMaine Scholar Athlete and Hockey East All-Academic team member.
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Before Maine, Emilie played at Anoka High School where she was captain and earned a Hobey Baker Award in her senior season. Emilie has spent time coaching youth hockey players for several years across Minnesota and Maine. Most recently, Emilie was the head coach for the St. Francis/North Branch Girls’ High School team in the 2017-2018 season.
casey rooney
Zak Lambrecht
I started playing hockey at the age of 4. I played high school hockey for two years at Chisago Lakes High School, making a state appearance in 2014. After that I played a year of AAA in the NAPHL for the Minnesota Revolution before moving onto junior hockey for two years, including a year in the NOJHL for the Blind River Beavers in Ontario. I am currently going into my junior year of college and playing at Hamline University
jack Senden
Jack Senden: Jack played high school hockey in the MHSHL for Hill-Murray High School, where he had two state tournament appearances. Following high school, Jack played junior hockey with the Granite City Lumberjacks in the NA3HL. Jack began coaching with ReadReact in the summer of 2022. As a coach, Jack focuses' on building self-confidence as well as fine-tuning the specific details of skating, stick handling, and shooting in relation to game situations.
sam nelson
Jackson KohnAn
Jack played hockey for about 15 years starting at White Bear Lake High School in the MHSHL. Jack had standout performances at evets such as The Now Prospects Combine, Great 8, Bantam Elite League, and many other hockey events. Jack is currently going to school in pursuit of a business degree.
Burke SimpSon
In youth hockey, Burke played AAA hockey with Milwaukee Jr Admirals, winning one state championship against Team Wisconsin. After graduating high school, Burke went on to play two years of Junior A hockey for the Nipawin Hawks in the SJHL, followed by a season with Shreveport Mudbugs in the NAHL. Currently, Burke is playing his second year for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, NCAA. Burke began coaching with ReadReact towards the end of 2022. As a coach, Burke focuses on the tools and abilities that are essential for players to play at an elite level.
Eli Marchese
Eli is from Waterloo, Iowa where he grew up playing youth hockey. Eli was a student of A.J. Bucchino and Casey Rooney. He now plays for the Minnesota Blue Ox in the USPHL. Eli leverages the knowledge he has learned from A.J. and Casey to share with other motivated athletes.