USPHL Alumni Profiles: Former Florida Jr. Blade Bailey Now Coach At NCAA’s St. Scholastica
By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com
Colin Bailey certainly feels he is right where he belongs, doing what he was born to do and loving every minute of it. 
The Wausau, Wis., native who just turned 29 is entering his fourth season as Assistant Coach with the NCAA Division III College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn. A major period of Bailey’s former playing career happened in Estero, Fla., as he was a two-year defenseman with the Florida Jr. Blades in the former USPHL Empire Conference.
Due to concussions, Bailey’s junior career came to an end, but he very quickly transitioned into a fruitful coaching career, which saw him at one time being the youngest junior head coach in the country.
“The life of a hockey coach in general is good, though it’s not for everybody. The highs are high and the lows are low, but I’m grateful that my day-to-day is hockey all the time,” said Bailey. “I spend most of my time in the rinks and I’m on the ice nearly every day, which is extremely rewarding. It is a trying life, and again, not for everybody. It takes a lot of support from my family and my wife.”
The USPHL Years
Bailey originally joined the Jr. Blades in the USPHL’s inaugural season of 2013-14, playing a combined 20 regular season and playoff games that first year, helping the Blades win the Empire league championship after going 37-1-2 that season, and the Jr. Blades advanced to the former USA Hockey Junior National Championships tournament. He was a big part of the Jr. Blades’ 2014-15 USPHL Empire Southern Conference Championship team as well, playing in 37 games and scoring 18 points. He added one assist in eight playoff games that year, as well.
“We had guys on that team who went on to play NCAA hockey and earn All-Conference honors, and others won ACHA national championships,” added Bailey, who was recruited by former Jr. Blades head coach Tad O’Had, who today is the GM and Head Coach of the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks.
“Our coaching staff was unbelievable, led by Todd Pococke [currently GM/Head Coach of the NAHL’s Springfield Jr. Blues] and Ty Carlston [today a Jr. Blues scout]. I learned a lot from them, and they are both still huge resources for me in terms of coaching in today’s NCAA game.”
He also praised the entire Jr. Blades organization for how it provided what players needed, as the two-team organization still does today.
“Everything was available for us, including great training facilities,” said Bailey. “The group of guys we had on that team was just phenomenal. We lost just six regular season games in two years. The Jr. Blades staff taught us the fundamentals of how to be a professional. I can’t speak highly enough of the Jr. Blades.”
Transition Into Coaching
Bailey originally moved to Florida with a late mentor of his, former NHL player Steve Jensen, who has since passed away. 
“After one more junior season, I had to finish playing due to concussions,” said Bailey. “I had worked at a hockey camp since I was a kid, and the owner of the camp was Steve Jensen, and his solution was for me to stay in Minnesota for the winter, watch his house, and learn a trade.
“He was there in September and October of that year, and living together, we were both working together and living together so we were fighting a bit. He dropped me off one day at a worksite and said ‘pick those weeds, and I’ll be back in 20 minutes.’ Twenty minutes turned into 2 hours, and when he drove up, he said ‘If you’re going to live in my house, you’re coaching a hockey team.’ That’s where it began. I always think of the quote from Mark Twain: ‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’”
He began with coaching Bantam teams and soon evolved that into a high school job at Northern Lakes High School in Minnesota. By the next season, he was a junior hockey assistant coach.
“I had an opportunity to go back to school in my hometown of Wausau, and I became the assistant coach of their NA3HL team while going to school. Then, in the January of that year, I was offered the head coach job at the age of 22. There were a lot of down times, and it was a tough organization that I inherited, but starting as the younger junior head coach in the country, I ended up staying at Wausau for five seasons, including through an ownership change and rebrand. We improved from a six-win team for two seasons to a 21-win team making the playoffs.”
It was just after the start of the 2022-23 season that St. Scholastica reached out to Bailey with the opportunity to join their staff. It was a serendipitous occasion, as it also put him onto a college campus where he can complete his Bachelor’s degree.
“I’m majoring in Organizational Leadership, as I want to climb to the highest levels of coaching in the NCAA, and in order to do so, I need a degree,” Bailey added.
The Coaching Life
During the first three years of Bailey’s time with St. Scholastica, Head Coach Dave Williams’ Saints have put up a winning record each season, and won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular season title in 2022-23.
“I love St. Scholastica. I’m extremely proud to be a part of this team, it is one of my greatest accomplishments,” said Bailey. “I’m extremely excited about the direction of the team. We had a huge recruiting battle we were able to win, bringing in an All-American. Our defense corps will be the strongest it’s ever been and we’re returning most of our top scorers and our top goalie. This area [Duluth, Minn.] is a hockey crazy-place, and Minnesota really is the ‘State of Hockey.’ The support we get from everyone, and the support from the MIAC in general is second to none. It’s just a really exciting time for St. Scholastica and Division III hockey in general.”
As assistant coach, Bailey has a number of different “sub-titles” within that job – recruiting coordinator, defensive coach and penalty kill coach.
“I also do the pre-scouts for our games, so I wear a lot of different hats,” said Bailey. “I’ve built a really nice network in the game so far, and I’m able to use that in our recruiting battles.”
In addition to coaching at St. Scholastica, Bailey also founded and runs Bailey Hockey, offering hockey training camps for youth to junior ages.
“I get to talk about my passion with people, players, parents, etc.,” said Bailey.
When the trees start to turn once again around the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, that passion will again be on full display when the St. Scholastica Saints return to the ice for another exciting NCAA season.