Ian Nichols
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- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Bio
Ian Nichols enters his first season as an assistant coach for the Endicott women's rugby program. Nichols will work primarily as a forwards coach for the Gulls.
Nichols, who brings a bevy of experience to the staff, has coached in some capacity since 2009, including stints with Salem State's men, North shore youth, and North Shore women's teams.
His foray into rugby is an odd one, Coach Nichols attended UMass Dartmouth, partly on the premise that they had a rugby club. After searching around the first week and realizing the club had been dissolved, Coach Nichols decided to stick around anyway and get an education, putting rugby on hold. After graduation and returning to the North Shore, Coach Nichols began racking up penalty minutes in the local indoor soccer leagues before teammate suggested he go join this new rugby team that had just formed on the North Shore.
For the past decade, plus, Coach Nichols has been a fixture in the North Shore RFC pack, primarily as a tighthead prop, although he will always be an aspiring flyhalf. Since joining the club, Coach Nichols has been dedicated to all things rugby - serving on the executive board, coaching, recruiting, and even starting the rugby club at Salem State University in 2013, and coaching them through 2015.
A lifelong resident of the North Shore, who graduated from BHS well before most of his current players were born, Coach Nichols is excited to see rugby growing in his backyard and is thrilled to become a part of the Endicott College community.
When he's not coaching, playing, talking, pontificating, or dreaming about rugby, Coach Nichols spends his time with his wife Allanna, who he met through rugby, and two kittens (Pedro and Koji) in their home in Salem. He is currently halfway through his Master's program at Northeastern University, where he is studying Organizational Leadership and Project Management. He enjoys playing the guitar, biking, playing just about any sport, and is training in Brazilian jiu jitsu.