The Banff Hockey Academy’s first women’s head coach, Kendall Newell, has accepted a new job with the University of Maine women’s hockey program.
Newell spent four seasons coaching the BHA women’s program, where she compiled a 109-76-8 record, winning back-to-back Alberta Junior Female Hockey League regular season championships and a Central Alberta Hockey League title.
Newell will be an assistant coach with the NCAA Division 1 Black Bears program in Maine, which has been one of her goals since she began coaching.
“It’s why I started at the Academy. I wanted to coach at the collegiate hockey level. The opportunity came up and I decided to go for it,” Newell said.
A player’s favourite, Newell said she’ll never forget the teams she coached in Banff, especially watching that first team grow and learn alongside her.
“It will definitely be tough to leave. Banff and Canmore have been so supportive of the team and myself. I’ve met a lot of great people and it was a bittersweet moment for sure when I packed everything on Sunday and drove away,” Newell said. “But this is a great opportunity and I’m always welcome back in Banff.”
She leaves with the women’s program in great shape, and has helped many hockey players get their game to the next level, be it in hockey or in life.
“Getting a chance to be on the ice with those kids, and the opportunity to be with such great kids every day… Those days are close to my heart,” Newell said. “The big lesson is there is more to what we do than slapshots and breakouts. There is the hockey side of it, and there are the skills the players carry forward into life. We tried to develop the whole person.”
It was a busy week for Newell, who got married and found a new job in the span of a week. The big life changes gave her a chance to reflect upon her time in Banff working alongside mentors Bill Doherty and Garry Unger. She said they’ve taught her to calm down as a coach and focus more on building and development over wins and losses, stating that when she started, she was “a little more intensity and fire” than a proponent of player development.
“I am truly grateful to Bill (Doherty), the Academy and all the athletes that I have had the pleasure to work with over the past four years,” Newell said. “It was an incredible learning experience and truly humbling to learn and teach some of the great athletes that have been a part of the program. Through my experiences, I have grown as a person and coach during my time in Banff and I would not trade one minute that I have spent there.”
