Hazel Massier is looking forward to the experience and is ready to face the challenges.
As a long-time hockey coach in Quesnel, Massier has earned the confidence of BC Hockey officials, and with that confidence came the nod to lead the northeast zone U16 female hockey team into the BC Games.
“I love it,” Massier said as to why she pursued the head coach position.
Massier, who has experience as assistant coach with the U16 and U18 teams, felt it was time to step up to the plate and take on the responsibility of being the head coach.
Leading a team into the B.C. Games requires all of Massier’s experience as the circumstances present several difficult challenges.
First will be player selection.
Tryouts and player selection for the U16 team are this month in Fort St. John.
The tryout camp consists of one practice session and two games.
During that time, Massier and her assistant coaches will be keeping a sharp eye on the players, looking for several skills, especially skating and puck handling, but also intangibles like grit and determination.
“The other zone teams know we don’t quit,” Massier said.
Following the tryout camp, Massier has seven weeks to instill a team attitude among the players selected before the start of the B.C. Games.
Seven weeks might seem like a long time, but Massier is going to have to do it with just a single practice before they hit the ice to compete in the B.C. Games in Vernon in Feb. 23 – 26.
To get the process of team-building going, Massier and her assistant coaches are relying on the internet, getting the players to talk with each other through e-mail and messenger as well as assigning groups of players tasks to complete online.
At the BC Games, Massier has also scheduled plenty of off-ice activities in between games to promote team building further.
“You get there, get them to work hard and get them to work together and then it’s done,” Massier said of the short duration of the BC Games.
By comparison, coaching house-league teams, Massier said, allows for plenty of practice time to work with the players for a longer period of time, the entire hockey season.
Despite the challenges, Massier is looking forward to coaching the northeast zone girls U16 hockey team.
First off, the players are top-calibre players in their age group and they want to pursue hockey at a higher level.
As such, the girls, Massier said, are willing to make personal sacrifices and dedicate more time to hockey, including their fitness, nutrition and mental preparedness.
Whether it’s her house league team or the U16 team, Massier enjoys the sense of accomplishment.
“Seeing the players progress and seeing the smiles on their faces when they know they’ve achieved something,” Massier said was always a thrill.
“I like to see them improve and progress and hopefully learn life-skills as well.”
Winning the gold medal at the BC Games would be nice and is the ultimate goal, Massier admitted, but added success isn’t always measured by the score.
“To know that everyone played well and played as a team,” she said would also put a smile on her face.
