Coaches
JT Tarantino (Founder):
Between The Bucket was founded by JT Tarantino. JT grew up in Jackson, NJ, starting as a roller hockey player before switching to ice to play for the New Jersey Titans and New Jersey Rockets AAA and Junior programs. He started his first business when he was 16, founding Cardi Cup Hockey Tournaments as a way to pay for his junior hockey tuition. He went on to play collegiately at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, where he was a two-year captain of the program and posted 135 collegiate points in 94 games.
After working for four years in the financial services industry, JT decided to commit fully to his passion for helping young hockey players reach their fullest potential. He is currently the head coach of his alma mater Saint Joseph’s University, as well as the assistant coach of the Mercer Chiefs NCDC Junior Team. In his first season at the helm with the Hawks, JT took a team who missed playoffs the prior season to an ACCHL regular season championship with a record of 16-4-2. JT is most passionate about helping the next generation of rink rats better understand the "X's and O's" of the game they love!
Todd Wagenbach:
Wagenbach is the current coach of the Rockets Hockey Club Junior Elite Team, at the helm since the 2017-2018 season. During his tenure, Wagenbach has led the Rockets to 3 USPHL Nationals Appearances while never missing the USPHL playoffs.
As a player, the former NJ Rocket was inducted into the New Jersey High School Hall of Fame in 2012 as well as the Christian Brothers Academy Hall of Fame in 2013 after winning 3 state championships with the Colts. Wagenbach ended his playing career at The College of New Jersey before entering coaching in 2001.
He was the former coach of both JT and Zach Tarantino, and is the coach who gave JT his first coaching position with the Rockets HC Elite team. “Coach Wags” is a well respected member of the NJ hockey community and a valued member of our staff.
Tim Halewicz:
Coach Tim Halewicz played travel hockey for the New Jersey Rockets before becoming an impact player and captain at Seton Hall Prep. After SHP, Tim played four years of NCAA D3 college hockey at Wesleyan University in the NESCAC.
While teaching and coaching at The Harvey School from 2000-2014, Coach Tim also ran Hat Trick Hockey School. Coach Tim is a USA Hockey Level 4 certified coach who spent several years teaching and hosting CEP classes. Harvey Hockey solidified itself as a local private school contender as well as a competitive team among small New England Prep Schools.
Tim has coached the NJ Rockets at the 16U, 14U, and 12U AAA levels. He also served as the head coach of the Rockets Junior Premier team in 2018. This past season, Tim acted as an assistant coach for Protec Jr. Ducks EHL team as well.
Devan Abercrombie:
Devan grew up in Washington DC playing AAA for both Team Maryland and the Washington Little Caps. He then went on to play for Saint Joseph's University DII club team alongside Coach JT and Coach Keeney. Devan played an integral role in helping the team make their first playoff run in over 11 years, which became a positive turning point in the program's trajectory.
Both Devan and his brother Duante are on the forefront of making hockey more accessible for players throughout the Washington DC area. He is a former recipient of the NHL's Thurgood Marshall Scholarship, which helps promising hockey players from inner city communities be able to achieve their goal of playing hockey in college (Devan's Story).
Dean Keeney:
Coach Dean is a Philadelphia area native, growing up playing for the Haverford Hawks and Archbishop Carroll high school. He attended Saint Joseph's University, where he played hockey and posted an impressive 112 points over 98 career games. He was also a two year captain for the Hawks. Coach Keeney is involved in our game video analysis program, as well as coaching our summer tournament teams.
For the past 7 years, Coach Dean has been an integral part of Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, which aims to create opportunities for under-resourced youth of the Greater Philadelphia Region to prosper in both hockey and overall life. He has been the Head Coach of their Peewee and Bantam AA teams, who went to the Atlantic District Championships two years in a row.
Martino Picariello:
Coach "Pic" grew up in South Philadelphia and South Jersey, playing youth hockey for Team Comcast and the New Jersey Titans. After completing his youth hockey career, Martino played junior hockey for a few different organizations, including the Aston Rebels in the NAHL.
He went on to play 4 years of NCAA D3 hockey at Stevenson University, operating as a steady and reliable defenseman for the Mustangs from 2017-2021. Coach "Pic" is now a real estate professional in Philadelphia, and loves to help pass his knowledge of the game down to the next generation of hockey players through on ice skills sessions as well as video coaching.
Anthony Capriotti:
Anthony, a Staten Island native, grew up playing AAA hockey for the NJ Titans, before moving over to the NJ Rockets for his last 4 years. He was the captain of the Rockets Jr. Elite team.
He is currently the assistant coach of the Rockets Junior Elite team. A good friend of mine and an old teammate.
Jason DesRochers:
Jason is currently a scout for the Johnstown Tomahawks in the NAHL, as well as a member of the New Jersey 87's EHL and u18AAA coaching staff.
Coach Jason worked with both JT and Zach Tarantino as players with the NJ Titans. His son Tyler is an incoming freshman on Mercyhurst's NCAA D1 team.
Tyler Pohlig:
Coach Pohlig is currently a Pharmacy student at Saint Joseph's University, where he is the reigning ACCHL Defensemen of the Year for the Hawks. He previously played NCAA D3 hockey for Western New England University, and is a veteran of the NAHL and NCDC as a member of the NJ Rockets and Philadelphia Rebels.
Tyler is heavily involved in our on-ice skills training in the Philadelphia area, while also focusing on functional off-ice training and nutrition.
Zach Tarantino:
Zach Tarantino is currently a senior ice hockey player at UMass Dartmouth (NCAA D3), where he has played since the 2020-2021 season. Prior to joining the Corsairs, Zach was a New Jersey High School Ice Hockey 1st Team All-State selection, after posting 90 points in just 24 games during his senior season.
He is the all time points leader at Wall High School, with 209 points during his high school career. Zach played junior hockey for both the NJ Rockets and NJ 87’s, where he posted 97 points in 82 career EHL games. He also plays professional roller hockey during the spring and summer.
Mike Mania:
Mike Mania is currently a senior ice hockey player at UMass Dartmouth (NCAA D3). He has been an impact player for the Corsairs since stepping foot on campus in 2020, posting 32 points in his first 48 games of NCAA hockey.
Mike started playing as a roller hockey player, and made the transition over to ice hockey to play for the New Jersey Titans. He went on to play junior hockey for the Philadelphia Revolution in the EHL and the New York Aviators in the USPHL, where he posted an impressive 83 points in 41 USPHL Premier games. He is also the career points leader for Central Regional High School, where he posited an impressive 207 points over 4 seasons with the Eagles.
Anthony Del Tufo:
Anthony Del Tufo is from Livingston, New Jersey and attended the Morristown-Beard School. As a goaltender he was a captain during his senior season, leading his team to back-to-back final four berths.
After his time at Morristown-Beard, Anthony started playing junior hockey in the Eastern Hockey League for Team Maryland. He was then called up to the North American Hockey League (NAHL), where he played for the Maryland Black Bears in their inaugural season.
After his junior hockey career, Anthony played two years of NCAA D3 hockey at SUNY Plattsburgh, capturing SUNYAC Goalie of the Week and SUNYAC Rookie of the Week. Anthony currently plays for Salve Regina University NCAA D3 Men’s Hockey, starting in 14 games his junior season.
Coach Anthony is our goalie coach, and leads our goalie video sessions. If interested in scheduling a session with Anthony, please contact jt@betweenthebucket.com and we will get you set up!
Co-CVO Tillie Tarantino
Co-Chief Vibe Officer Tillie Tarantino has zero hockey experience aside from looking cute in every jersey she’s worn. She’s been CVO of Between The Bucket Hockey since she was born on August 29th, 2023. Born at 5 pounds 14 oz & 19 inches long, she’s our fun-sized employee. At almost 8 weeks old, Tillie has attended 4 ice rinks and has her own fan club at each rink her dad coaches at. Tillie’s primary responsibilities at BTB include being adorable in pink & black, listening to every hockey conversation between her parents, and growing big & strong so she can attend all of the tournaments next spring! When she’s not modeling BTB apparel or causing mom to make typos while sending emails, she’s sleeping, eating, or admiring her black & white visual cards. If you see Tillie at a tournament, come say hi!
Co-CVO Banksie Tarantino
Our other Co-Chief Vibe Officer is two-year-old rescue pup Banksie Tarantino. Banksie is lovingly called Stinks, Stinky rat, Stinky the rat, llama, banks, wombat llama bear lima bean, Banksie Joe, Joseph, and Joseph A Banks. Amazingly, she responds to all of it. She’s not our best employee as she spends most of her time sleeping, begging for cheese and peppers, and defending her home from the Amazon delivery drivers, rabbits, and flies. She’s not a hard worker, but she loves attention making her a great CVO when she visits rinks. She enjoys playing fetch with stray pucks around the rink and having everyone cheer for her as she enters locker rooms. She’ll never miss an opportunity for an applause or ear pets so if you see her staring at you while wiggling her butt, come say hi!
Julia Tarantino
Although a competitive cheerleading & gymnastics coach for ten years, Julia is not a coach here at BTB. Previously, Julia was an occupational therapy practitioner at an outpatient orthopedic rehab and a specialized children's school. After having their daughter, Tillie, Julia stepped back from occupational therapy and dove right into Between The Bucket, turning BTB into a true family-run business. Julia runs our social media pages and does a lot of our behind the scenes work. If you ever have a question or sign up for tournaments/sessions, you'll most likely be getting an email from Julia!