Vancouver, BC- Talk about an off-season.
The Trinity Western women’s hockey team may have played this past season, but their jump to U SPORTS is proving to be massive. Head coach Jean Laforest has built the program for success since taking over last season, and this past week, the team added a shiny new piece to their puzzle.
Sarah Potomak, a Canadian international and former NCAA star is joining the Spartans coaching staff for their inaugural U SPORTS campaign. Although the season is scheduled to be shorter than past Canada West iterations, it remains a predominant year for the program, something that is shown further with the hiring of Potomak.
There are a lot of good things about bringing her on board. She has had and continues to have success in her own playing career, a virtue that is invaluable to hand down to a very young TWU roster next year. Working alongside Laforest brings a lot of experience to the brand new team, but the experience of different sorts. In speaking to TWU Spartans Athletics, Potomak said: “I think having a lot of experience at different levels is going to help me as a coach.”
Aside from coaching and mentoring the team, Potomak will be pursuing a master’s degree in leadership and education at Trinity Western. There could not have been a better learning opportunity than to be able to coach a brand new team. Albert Einstein once said “There is no better source of knowledge than experience,” and that’s a certainty that Potomak will follow.
She’s returning to near her old stomping grounds, with Langley a stones throw away from Aldergrove, a fact that will make the transition even easier. It will certainly be an adjustment for the Canadian international, who is stepping onto the bench after scoring 65 goals over 145 games in Minnesota’s garnet and gold, but its something shes looking forward to. “I think that continuing to be a player is going to help me as a coach and being a coach is going to help me as a player because it’ll give me different perspectives,” she said to TWU Athletics.
While playing for Team Canada is one thing, Potomak is also a member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) but is unlikely to be competing in any of their events this season. The PWHPA announced their plans for the year and did not include anything west of Calgary. It’s fair to say that the chance of Potomak being a part of any of the association’s showcase games is slim, however, she does hope to dawn the red and white whenever possible.
With her addition to the women’s program, TWU becomes a family affair, as brother Brandon enters his fourth year with the men’s program, which also entering U SPORTS
It has been a stunning off-season for the Trinity Western women’s hockey team. A transformed roster and a new assistant coach, have all been situated with hopes of a successful inaugural U SPORTS camp