ECHL: Sit Down with South Carolina Stingrays Coach Jared Nightingale

The South Carolina Stingrays hired a new Coach this season after the firing of Brendan Kotyk. Results have already been seen with the impact of these changes. Since Coach Jared Nightingale has taken the helm, South Carolina Stingrays have had their best start in many seasons, with a 9-3-1 record after their game in Greenville Friday night. 

Inside The Rink, had the opportunity to sit down with Coach Nightingale Saturday morning ahead of the Adirondack Thunder series and discuss the changes and experience he brought to the ice in the Low Country.

Jared Nightingale has had an impressive career as a defenseman and then as an assistant coach, and transitioning into this role was always the next step. “I always looked up to coaches. I played for some really good coaches, that had really good, strong impacts in my life. I always knew I wanted to try. My dad coached me when I was growing up, so I saw the influence he had on teammates and a lot of our friends. I have two older brothers who also coach, so it’s always been in the bloodline and something I wanted to try.”

With Nightingales’ first time being a head coach, his position also takes on the team’s GM role, allowing him to have a more intimate relationship with the paperwork and hands-on approach to recruiting and signing players. “It’s been fun though, lots to learn,” Coach said “I feel real fortunate having Rob Concannon here for years. So, someone to lean on, and the people that this organization has lots of experience. So I feel spoiled in that sense.” 

Coach has no intentions of leaving South Carolina. When asked if he was looking to become an NHL coach, Nightingale stated, “Human nature is always looking at the next step. I want to be fully invested in trying to do our best here. There’s lots to learn, and this is a really good league. Being in South Carolina, I realize how fortunate I am to be a head coach, especially in a place like this.”

With South Carolina seeing its best start since the 2020 season, I asked what the most significant implemented change was; it was encouraging the players to be themselves. Coach Nightingale said, “Trying to make every player feel valuable ’cause they are. These guys are in and out of the lineup, I mean look at what we are going through right now. Our depths getting tested, every player is important. I lived it as a player, so it’s nice to be a coach now and try and communicate that to our team. 

Coach Nightingale’s biggest advice to an up-and-coming player is to “Be present. Players want to be in the NHL, or worried about their contracts. I think that’s human nature, but try to be where your feet are at and make the most of each day. 

I finished my time with Coach Nightingale by asking a fun question cause we are always so serious, and having that little laugh in the world made the day a little easier. I asked the coach if he could be any inanimate object. What would he be? “Oh wow, that’s a great question. Wow. Yeah, I’d like to be a driver, a golf driver. Cause I suck at it. So yeah, I’d like to be a golf driver to get better at it. 

Jared Nightingale is the 12th Head coach in franchise history and is looking to restore the previous glory synonymous with the South Carolina Stingrays name.

South Carolina hosts the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24th for the seventh time in league history, the last time being in 2020, when they came out on top with a 4-3 overtime win.