'It's about the coaching for me': Female assistant coach thriving with the U of A's Golden Bears
A skilled hockey player from Fairview, Alta., with a knack for coaching was handpicked by the head coach of the University of Alberta’s Golden Bears Hockey to join the team's staff.
Throughout her career, Rachel Wiebe, 22, told CTV News she has primarily played for men's teams. But, it was always a long-term dream to play for the U of A Pandas, the school's female team
“I had always wanted to play on the Pandas since I could skate,” she explained.
“My parents put me on skates as soon as I could walk. I'd always dreamed of coming to come play here.”
Before making her way to Edmonton, Wiebe was attending school and playing women’s hockey in Grande Prairie.
Eventually she made the difficult decision to quit playing because of too many concussions and began coaching, which led to a multitude of opportunities.
When she decided to transfer to the U of A for school, Wiebe reached out to Howie Draper, the Pandas head coach, to try and achieve her childhood dream “in some capacity.”
She joked she would even “fill water bottles,” if necessary.
Well, the team did more than that. She was offered an assistant coach position for the 2019-2020 season. That’s how she met Ian Herbers, head coach for the Golden Bears.
Wiebe recalls Herbers reaching out to her over the summer.
“He said, ‘Hey, I would like you on my team as an assistant coach. Are you interested?’”
“I said, “Yeah, absolutely,’” she laughed.
While she’s now coaching for a men’s team, she said all the staff and players have been respectful, supportive and receptive of her feedback.
“You’ve got a wide range of skill-sets and experience and the players do too. They've come from all over,” she explained. “So as much as I’m able to contribute to their game and help develop them, they help contribute to my knowledge of the game as well.”
Wiebe told CTV News it can be intimidating to be the only woman in the room but pushes past the discomfort with her confidence in the sport and her abilities.
“You get over that intimidation,” she said.
“Any assistant coach joining a new program, you have to earn the players respect through your knowledge of the game, your worth ethic, your passion for it. That's male or female, it doesn't really matter the gender in my mind, it's about the coaching for me.”
Wiebe said while stigma and stereotypes around women in male dominated sports still exists, it’s becoming less and less all the time.
“Fortunately, you are starting to see more women in sport and more women in men’s leagues.”
“I think seeing a growing number of women getting into it helps younger girls think like, ‘OK there’s someone that looks like me on this men’s team, maybe that’s something that I want to do,’” adding that an opportunity like this has to be earned every single day.
- BC Lions become first CFL team to hire full-time female coach, adding Walter to staff
- 'Great young team that is hungry to win': Canucks' hire first-ever female assistant general manager
Even though Wiebe is still working on her degree, she hopes to stay with the Golden Bears and “see where it goes.”
“For me, what I try to offer the team is I focus lots on the little details with them and make sure it’s the little battles they need to win to be successful overall,” she said.
“You’re always a student of the game, you’re always learning.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
Missing B.C. climber died from fall on Mount Baker, medical examiner says
The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies and bats
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Anne Hathaway confirms 'Princess Diaries 3': 'Miracles happen'
You might be thinking, 'Shut up!' but it’s officially true: the 'Princess Diaries' franchise is finally growing.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Sask. man pleads guilty in U.S. after unknowingly providing videos of men raping toddlers to FBI agent
A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.