By stressing both the enjoyment and fundamentals of this game, Samantha Holmes-Domagala is assisting girls that are young in deep love with hockey, making her BFL Female Coach of the Year honours
“Everyone loves viewing [players] enhance. I favor viewing them discover a fresh ability.”
That’s Samantha Holmes-Domagala on why she loves mentoring.
In addition explains the thing that makes her the BFL Female Coach of the entire year (Community).
Holmes-Domagala may be the mind mentor of this Calgary Jr. Inferno U9 group additionally the manager of coaching (Timbits U7, U9, U11) for women Hockey Calgary (GHC). She’s as passionate about ability development as this woman is the enjoyment areas of hockey. She realizes that during the grassroots, the main focus has to be on basics and fostering a love associated with the game.
“I’ve for ages been anyone to surrender towards the game, and I also feel that’s the smallest amount of i could do,” she says. “Hockey is my passion. It constantly is likely to be. There’s a piece of me personally that always desires more hockey, whether that playing that is’s mentoring. I really like viewing the girls fall deeply in love with the video game that I like, and producing a breeding ground where they are able to fall deeply in love with it.”
Holmes-Domagala’s hockey journey took her from her house in Mississauga, Ont., to Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, N.H., and four years utilizing the University of brand new Hampshire before she got a style associated with the game that is pro Brampton when you look at the nationwide Women’s Hockey League (NWHL).
She headed west in 2002 to become listed on the Calgary Oval X-Treme regarding the Western Women’s Hockey League (WWHL), winning gold in the Esso Women’s Nationals in 2003, and assisted found the Strathmore Rockies, whom played three periods into the WWHL from 2008-11.
Holmes-Domagala additionally gained worldwide experience, playing 10 games with Canada’s National Women’s Team and winning gold medals during the 4 countries Cup in 2000 and 2004.
She buddy coupons got a part of mentoring once her older child, Dyllan, 7, began playing the overall game. Her expertise in, passion for and commitment towards the women’s game is clear to every person around her.
Jody Forbes is really a director of Hockey Calgary while the previous president of GHC. She viewed Holmes-Domagala together with her group in 2010. “ we was thinking to myself just exactly how happy those girls are that they’re planning to have mentor like Samm a majority of their life. It’s different for girls to see females in leadership functions in their own personal sport. This means plenty for them.”
Girls’ hockey remains a male-dominated tradition during the leadership degree, Forbes claims. Holmes-Domagala is evolving that. She oversees 100 coaches as GHC’s mentoring manager. “Having her in a leadership role along with her history and passion for feminine hockey happens to be amazing,” says Forbes. “It’s amazing for the girls to see but in addition for our coaches to notice a very good feminine with that hockey knowledge.”
Holmes-Domagala works tirelessly promoting women’s hockey and ensuring every player has got the start that is right. This previous period, she developed and went two brand new programs.
First Strides can be a program that is introductory. Girls had been usually intimidated by the programs that are community-based they might arrive at a rink excited to use hockey but keep uninterested after walking into a dressing space high in guys and onto ice filled up with dads. Holmes-Domagala designed this system to be enjoyable but additionally supply the foundation when it comes to girls to change to the Jr. Inferno system with full confidence together with fundamental set of skills to reach your goals. Forty-six girls – including her younger child, Avery – registered.
The abilities Sequence Program is really a coach-development system. Holmes-Domagala designed it to advertise persistence in GHC’s mentoring distribution and delivered it to significantly more than 50 groups in Calgary. Her coaches now take action with regards to players for six to ten full minutes every training. “Our volunteers had been hours that are spending in search of skills,” she claims. “We will help them so, in change, they could assist the young ones.”
As being a mentor, Holmes-Domagala personalizes her approach for every single son or daughter. “i’m a component that is really big of passion is discovering exactly just exactly what kids like.” She ended up being the little one you needed to chase the ice off after training. Its not all kid really loves the rink when it comes to reason that is same and that’s OK. “On my group, I’d children whom desired to do stick-handling challenges in the center of cold weather, but we additionally had young ones whom simply desired to turn out simply because they such as the dressing space or the red tape on their stick.
“i must say i learned coaching Timbits that we needed seriously to wear a costume in the ice for Halloween.” As far away from her safe place as dressing in a one-piece unicorn suit is, it assisted her interact with her players.
Nicole Walker has seen that firsthand. Her older child, Katherine, 7, played for Holmes-Domagala’s U9 group this 12 months; her younger child, Lillian, 5, signed up for First Strides.
“She is able to speak to the youngsters; she understands how exactly to engage them,” claims Walker. “She needs time to work away from exactly exactly what they’re doing to inquire of them about not merely the way they simply did their drill – how exactly to enhance or even provide them with a– that is high-five also about what’s occurring in school.”
The advisor is devoted to growing athletes the way that is right. The main focus just isn’t in the scoreboard. “We did a whole lot about being fully good teammates and so what does that mean. Most of the girls didn’t know if they won or destroyed,” she claims. “We based our performance on what we felt, which will be everything we could control – how difficult did we work, did we help our teammates, did we hustle and had been we accountable in the ice.”
In most her roles, she would like to set girls up to achieve your goals. “I would like to offer our young feminine athletes a way to excel,” she claims. This means direction that is offering girls whom consume, sleep and breath hockey, plus it means assisting those thrilled to play twice per week sharpen their skills.
Plus it means producing mentorship possibilities in the type of a Buddy Team. Her U9 players would go to a nearby U13 team’s games and methods; the older girls then served as mentoring assistants for them, tying skates, picking right on up pucks and drills that are demonstrating.
In only 3 years, Holmes-Domagala has recently changed the tradition within GHC and laid the groundwork for player development – on / off the ice – money for hard times.
“I’m excited to see what she’s planning to do utilizing the game in Calgary throughout the next ten years,” says Forbes. “I think she’s likely to be leading it for certain.”