Congratulations to our very own Coach Carolyn! She received an incredible opportunity to work with the NHL as a part of the NHLCA Female Coaches Development Program. It will run from mid March to July taking place in places like New York and Toronto!

While we will miss her on the ice during spring, we cannot wait to hear all the amazing insights she comes back to the Hawks program with to help continue to grow and develop our expanding girls program! Great job, Coach Carolyn!  Read about this exciting program below.

"Recognizing the tremendous influence female coaches have on an athlete’s future in the game, on International Women’s Day 2020 the NHLCA proudly announced a new initiative to help support the development of female hockey coaches across all levels of the game. Female coaches are a critical component of supporting the growth of hockey at the grassroots level, and it is essential to the game to diversify the current pool of hockey coaches.

The NHLCA Female Coaches Development Program is an initiative that aims to support female coaches in several areas including skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking, and career advancement opportunities.

The inaugural year of the program included a group of 50 female hockey coaches selected from across North America, many in partnership with their local NHL team. Ensuring there is a strong connection to the communities from which the coaches are based is a cornerstone of the program. Program candidates for Year 3 of the program, which coincides with the 2022-2023 NHL season, have been selected.

Carolyn is a girls youth ice hockey coach with the Chicago Hawks Hockey Club in Illinois. Formerly, she worked with Oakland Bears Ice Hockey in California helping develop their girls hockey program as well as coaching the Sharks Special Hockey team. She is passionate about the growth and development of women’s and girls ice hockey. Carolyn believe in the importance of coaching both the mental and physical game, with the goal of developing my players into healthy, lifelong athletes."