LEADING THE FUTURE ONCE AGAIN

Widnes Wild are delighted to confirm that Mikey Gilbert will continue as Head Coach of the Widnes Wild Academy for the 2026/27 season.

A hugely important figure within the organisation, Gilbert enters his ninth year with the club after first joining the Wild setup back in 2017. Since then, he has played a major role in shaping the Academy into one of the key foundations of the club’s long-term vision and development pathway.

What began with just eight players and no competitive league hockey has grown into a thriving Academy structure with depth across all age groups, helping introduce countless new players to the sport while developing talented young athletes both on and off the ice.

The continued growth of the Academy has been central to the wider progression of the Widnes Wild organisation, with a fully integrated pathway now stretching from junior hockey through to senior NIHL competition.

Following confirmation of his return, Gilbert said:

“I’m delighted to be once again with Widnes, coaching for the forthcoming season. Having been here since March 2017, this will be my ninth year with the club and what a journey it has been so far.

We started with eight players, no structure and no competitive league hockey. To now having a well-built structure, a great culture, full depth across all teams, constantly introducing and welcoming new players to the game, creating a progress and enjoyment-driven atmosphere to allow young people to feel motivated, empowered and part of something bigger so they can strive to be the best player and person they can possibly be.

But not only that, we are also instilling key values and principles in the young people at the club to fully equip them with whatever life may throw at them, so they can be successful and be their best.

We have had a lot of change recently and exciting new ventures added into the Widnes product, and this is something the club has been working towards for the last nine years. We are now seeing this come to fruition.

It’s amazing to see the integrated pathway and full alignment across the club with shared values, positive culture and a competitive environment to allow all players to thrive.

The people involved in the club are amazing, motivated and supportive, while the players are talented, driven, hardworking and full of potential.

From the start, this is what we envisioned and worked towards. Now we want to keep pushing on and continue the growth of the club.

We are a force to be reckoned with and we are only going to get stronger!

I can’t wait to continue the great work with the club and be a part of what is to come.

The future is bright, exciting and Wild!”

The club are proud to have Mikey continuing to lead the next generation of Wild players as the future of hockey in Widnes continues to grow stronger year after year.

Everyone at Widnes Wild would like to congratulate Mikey on his return and we look forward to another exciting year for the Academy during the 2026/27 campaign.

Keep an eye on the club’s social media channels, with more announcements coming soon.

#LETSGOWILD #REWILDING