Jordan Froese said the thought of someone appreciating the work she's done in minor hockey would have been good enough.
But whoever it was thought enough of Froese to nominate her for a national honour, one which she is now the proud owner of.
Froese, who works with the Town of Hay River's recreation department, was named as one of 22 female hockey coaches around Canada to win the BFL Canada Female Coach of the Year Award earlier this month. The award, which is given out in conjunction with Hockey Canada, is split into two categories: community and competitive. Froese was named as the winner for Hockey North in the community category.
Abby Webster, who was born in Hay River, won in the competitive category.
Froese said she's known about the win for a while, but had to keep it secret until now.
"I was actually told back in June," she said. "They send you an e-mail to let you know that they want to do an interview over Zoom about hockey and why you like it so much. They don't let on that it's really an interview about why you're winning the award until it's over, so it was a huge surprise."
Froese joins Courtney Fraser, the town's recreation programs supervisor, as recipients of the award. Fraser won the very same honour in 2023.
"I've learned so much from Courtney," said Froese.
Froese admitted she never really played hockey growing up as her background is in figure skating.
She said she got involved in minor hockey like so many other volunteers do: helping out their kids.
"I have three boys and so I started as a helper parent," she said. "Hay River Minor Hockey held a coaching certification program one season and so I got involved."
Most of her work has been with the U9 and U11 divisions by assisting Mike King, she added.
"It's been really exciting to see everything click," she said. "You see the kids figure out how to do cross cuts or transition from forward to backward skating and you see the smiles when they do it. That's the best part."
It's no secret that the number of females playing hockey has been growing steadily over the past few years and that's reflected in one of the teams Froese coached this past season.
"A majority of the team was female," she said. "It's good to have both sexes out on the ice at the same time and I think the kids enjoy that aspect of it. It's just exciting to see the development of girls in hockey and seeing the barriers coming down from when I was growing up."
As for future aspirations, Froese said she isn't looking to make the jump into the competitive ranks and go behind the bench at a major event such as the Arctic Winter Games or Canada Winter Games..
She just enjoys working at the local level.
"I still feel I have a lot to learn," he said. "I just enjoy working with the younger kids and helping tem with their development."
