U18 Women’s Worlds Recap – Canada 8, Finland 0

On the ice, Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team completed a three-game
sweep of the United States in its summer series for the first time since
2007, but behind the bench, the coaching staff was making a little history.

Head coach Courtney Birchard-Kessel and assistants Stefanie McKeough and
Tara Watchorn became the first all-women coaching staff in the history of
Canada’s women’s U18 program. The result against the Americans was
terrific, but the impact the series will have on growing women’s hockey
goes beyond the ice.

“We’re in such a good time for women in coaching positions,” says Watchorn.
“With pioneers like Hayley Wickenheiser and Caroline Ouellette, it’s great
to see that women are starting to get in on the coaching side now and
there’s a path to making coaching a career, which was really tough before.
It’s really cool to see that transition where a wave of players who have
already had a hockey career now able to move into coaching.”

To add to the accomplishment, all three members of the coaching staff are
alumnae of National Women’s Program, having shared the ice together at camps
and events over the last decade and a half, including a golden experience
with Canada’s National Women’s Development Team at the 2011 MLP Cup, the
only time the three wore the Maple Leaf together.

Combined, the three played 183 international games; Birchard-Kessel
appeared in three IIHF Women’s World Championships, winning gold in 2012,
Watchorn was an Olympic gold medallist in 2014 and played at three women’s
worlds, and McKeough was part of the Canadian contingent at the 2009 IIHF
World Women’s U18 Championship.

So coming back to the national program and having a reunion of sorts behind
the bench meant a little bit extra for the trio.

“Between the three of us, our paths have crossed so many times throughout
our own playing careers, and we have a lot of shared experiences and values
we learned along the way,” Watchorn says. “For the under-18 age group,
they’re so young and for a lot of them, it’s their first high-performance
environment. So, for us to be able to understand and anticipate those
stressors and telling them to focus on just being present, enjoying the
time with teammates and making them better, you’re always…