WeCOACH is excited to announce a new collaboration with the NHL Coaches’ Association (NHLCA) that will advance efforts to support the development of female hockey coaches and diversify the current pool of hockey coaches. The collaboration includes providing WeCOACH memberships to all members of the NHLCA Female Coaches Program.
On International Women’s Day 2020, the NHLCA proudly announced the launch of the NHLCA Female Coaches Program, a new initiative to help support the development of female hockey coaches across all levels of the game. Now in its fifth season, the Program supports over 100 women in several areas including skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking, and career advancement opportunities.
“Female coaches are a critical element to supporting the growth of hockey as they have a tremendous influence on an athlete’s future in the sport,” said Lindsay Pennal, Executive Director of the NHLCA. “Since the launch of the NHLCA Female Coaches Program, we’ve been fortunate to support some incredible women in achieving their career goals. As we work together to continue to foster diversity, we’re proud to offer WeCOACH’s resources to our members to complement our current programming.”
The hockey community recently celebrated Jessica Campbell making history as the first full-time Assistant Coach in the NHL when she stepped behind the bench with the Seattle Kraken in October 2024. Coach Campbell has been a member of the NHLCA Female Coaches Program since 2021 and continues to be a valuable mentor. To build upon this progress, NHLCA program members will have access to the WeCOACH platform which includes 13 different year-round professional growth and leadership development programs.
“On behalf of our WeCOACH Community, we are thrilled to welcome the NHLCA, and we look forward to the transformational impact created through this partnership,” said Vanessa Fuchs, WeCOACH CEO. “The NHLCA has been a global leader with their efforts to diversify the sport of hockey and grow the number of women coaching at every level of the sport. To have women coaches as role models is critical to getting and keeping young girls in sport.”
To learn more about the NHLCA and all WeCOACH Partners, visit: https://www.wecoachsports.org/get- involved/wecoach-partners.