'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
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.