The Dartmouth Athletic Department announced the retirement of head squash coach John Power after 11 years at the helm of the men's and women's teams on Friday. Assistant coach Hansi Wiens will replace Power in August.
Since 1998, Power has coached the men's team to a record of 135-75 and the women's team to a record of 115-61. He has coached three players to All-Ivy status, two of whom were also named All-Americans.
Power said that throughout his experience coaching, his favorite part was getting to know so many great, young student-athletes.
"Being in an athletic atmosphere with a lot of great people helped keep me young," he said. "It was a tremendous experience, and I totally enjoyed it."
Power said he intends to return to his native Canada after leaving Dartmouth at the end of the summer. He cited a desire to "head back home" as a reason for retiring.
"Now that I'm 60 years of age, I felt it was time to get back to my roots and rediscover myself," Power said.
Power said that it will be difficult to leave Dartmouth, adding that it will be especially hard to leave players that he has either just recruited or only coached for a few years.
"My wife and I are leaving with certain feelings of regret," he said. "But now is the time to make the break."
Power said that if he had to critique something about Dartmouth's squash program, it would be its level of commitment. He said that the vast majority of players worked extremely hard during the season, but that it takes hard work in the off-season to obtain "true excellence."
"From my perspective, there could be more commitment on a 12-month period," he said.
Josie Harper, Dartmouth director of athletics and recreation, said in a release that Power's retirement was met with mixed emotions.
"We are obviously sad to see [Power] retire after 11 seasons at the helm of our men's and women's squash programs, but we are thrilled to announce the hiring of [Wiens] as our new head coach," she said.
Harper previously announced her retirement effective July 1.
Wiens has been an assistant coach for the Big Green for the past two years. He said in an interview with The Dartmouth that, although he is sad to see Power go, he is also happy to take on a new challenge.
"We had a lot of good fun together, I learned quite a few things from him," he said said of coaching under Power. "It's going to be tough for me to fill the big shoes he left for me, and I will have to work very hard."
Wiens said that his greatest challenge as head coach will be keeping the players driven.
"I would like to motivate our students as much as possible, and be there for them as much as possible," he said.
Both Power and Wiens ended up at Dartmouth somewhat unexpectedly, they said. Power served in the Canadian armed forces for 20 years before accepting a squash coaching position at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. In the 1991 Canada Games, he guided the Ontario squash team to the gold medal. In 1998, after coming across a notice on the Internet that Dartmouth was looking for a head squash coach, he decided to apply for the job.
"Next thing I knew, I had to make a decision to leave a very good job in Toronto to try something completely new," he said. "It was a new atmosphere to experience squash."
Wiens' initial connection to Dartmouth squash was through Power's son Jonathan, who he knew from his eight years as a professional squash player. Jonathan invited Wiens to participate in a squash camp at Dartmouth, at which point he heard that the staff was looking for an assistant coach, Wiens said.
Before arriving at Dartmouth, Wiens played professionally and coached in both Spain and his native Germany. At the height of his professional career, he was ranked eighth in the world. He was also a nine-time German Close champion, and represented Germany in team competition 146 times.
Squash runs deep in both the Power and Wiens families. Power's sons Jonathan and Ian have played squash professionally. Jonathan was ranked No. 1 in the world when he retired in 2006.
Wiens does not have children, but will have the opportunity of coaching his wife, Valaria, for the next four years. Valaria, 22, has been accepted to the Class of 2013 and will play squash for the women's varsity squash team while at Dartmouth, The Dartmouth previously reported.
