FRANK SACHELI

Multi-Sport Coach at Nichols

Frank Sacheli grew up just over the border in Fort Erie, Ontario. This is where he honed his athletic prowess in football, hockey, baseball, track, and soccer. He attended Brown University and was the leading scorer on the freshman hockey team. In 1969 he led the varsity in goals and total points, was the leading goal scorer in the Ivy League and earned second team All-Ivy honors.

After graduating from Brown, Sacheli took his passion for sports and teaching to the Nichols School. During his tenure, which began in 1971, he coached freshman hockey, under 16 hockey, JV hockey, varsity boys soccer, varsity boys golf, varsity girls softball, varsity girls hockey, and varsity boys hockey. Sacheli coached 563 games as the boys varsity hockey coach. Over this period, his teams recorded 421 wins, 124 losses, and 18 ties (76.4%). The team won 25 tournaments, including seven Nichols New Year championships, five Ridley Invitational championships, four St. Andrew’s MacPherson Title championships, and four Lawrenceville championships. In a three year stretch from 1982-84, the team won 69 consecutive regular season and playoff games, including 10 straight tournaments. Frank helped mold several future NHL players: including Peter Ciavaglia, Les Kuntar, Scott Thomas, Tony Hejna, Jason Zent, Brooks Orpik, and David Seitz.

In 2006, Sacheli took a sabbatical from his teaching duties at Nichols and joined the Middlebury College men’s hockey team as an assistant coach. The team won an NCAA National championship that year, and Frank brought his new found knowledge and enthusiasm back to Nichols where he took over as the girls hockey coach. Over the next four seasons, the team recorded 95 wins, 23 losses, and 11 ties (77.9%). The team was the Canadian Independent School Athletic Association champion in 2007, Deerfield champion in 2008, and the North American Prep Hockey League undefeated champion in 2010.

His great coaching also transitioned to the golf course, where his teams posted a record of 111 wins, 19 losses, and two ties (84.8%). The varsity boys golf team won four Niagara Frontier League championships, were Monsignor Martin League champions in 2007, and were the New York Independent School State champions for four consecutive years from 2002-05.

In soccer, as the boys varsity coach, he guided his teams to a record of 47 wins, 13 losses, and eight ties (75%), winning a Monsignor Martin League championship in 1980 and a Niagara Frontier League championship in 1983.

In 1985, Sacheli helped organize and was the head coach of Team Buffalo, a group of local high school hockey players who played against All-Star teams from across the U.S. In 1986, the team won the National High School Championship and earned much deserved respect for WNY hockey.

Sacheli was the winner of the Niagara Frontier League Coaches Commendation Award in 1995. He has been an assistant and head coach of the West Section boys Empire State Games hockey team, and is a member of the Nichols School and Fort Erie halls of fame.

The biographies contained on this website were written at the time of the honoree's induction into the Hall of Fame. No attempt has been made to update these narratives to reflect more recent events, activities, or statistics.