Circling back to hockey

Haneet Parhar didn’t at all times have hockey in her plans. But for one motive or
one other, hockey at all times discovered a method again into her life. And for that, Parhar
is eternally grateful for the alternatives she’s had by means of the sport.

Her ardour for giving again to the game that gave her a lot has led to
her being honoured because the BFL Female Coach of the Year within the High
Performance class.

“There’s been so many occasions in my life the place I’ve informed myself ‘This is it, I
don’t know if I’ll ever return to a rink or decide up my skates,’ after which
increase, I come again to hockey,” Parhar says.

As a student-athlete on the University of British Columbia, there was loads
of uncertainty if she would even make the Thunderbirds roster. She would
ultimately have a really profitable U SPORTS profession, profitable three Canada West
championships, however her time at UBC additionally kicked off a profession in teaching that
she by no means imagined.

From wanting to only keep concerned as an 18-year-old undergrad scholar,
working as a coach in group rink applications and UBC hockey camps within the
summer season, it reminded Parhar of the enjoyment she present in hockey, for herself and
the children in her applications.

“Doing it all through my faculty and varsity profession at UBC, I coached on the
leisure stage for five-and-a-half years,” she says. “When you begin at
that stage, I actually did it as a result of I cherished it. You see the children smile and
it’s very easy to remove that hardcore fashion of teaching and do it for
enjoyable. It was a terrific match for me.”

Coaching youngsters from ages six to fifteen, not solely did it encourage Parhar to get
the children to take part, however it additionally reminded her how particular it was rising
up with hockey.

“It jogged my memory of once I was younger after we performed sports activities for enjoyable, too.
Being in a position to present that chance for teenagers to have a secure area for
themselves and permit them to department out, that’s what issues.”

When her Thunderbirds profession got here to an finish in 2017, Parhar was able to
cling up the skates, with the expectation that she had already given
the whole lot she needed to the game. Looking again to her time in appreciation,
she’s grateful for a way all of the teaching workers, led by head coach Graham
Thomas and assistant coach Mike Sommer, impressed her. It wasn’t till after
she left the UBC program that she realized how far their affect went.

A 12 months after graduating, working full-time whereas teaching for enjoyable on the
aspect together with her hometown North Shore Avalanche, Parhar obtained a name from
Thomas that opened up a brand new path in her life.

“I didn’t think coaching would be my end-all, be-all,” Parhar explains. “I
wasn’t a star participant, I wasn’t a captain, however [Thomas] mentioned he wished a brand new
voice. I got here in with my expertise as a participant who knew the tradition and the
system, what it meant to be a job participant and proudly owning it, and I used to be there for
the ladies as somebody who went by means of 5 years with the staff.”

After a single season again at UBC, Parhar determined she wished proceed to
discover her profession choices, deciding to surrender the sport as soon as once more, pack up
and transfer to England to pursue a level in legislation. And as the game would have
it, hockey discovered her once more.

“I used to be sitting in England through the pandemic, ready for a prepare in
pouring rain, simply two months away from graduating in May, once I obtained
one other cellphone name from Graham. It had been two years since I final coached,
and he requested me if I’m coming residence and if I’d be capable of coach within the
upcoming 12 months,” Parhar recollects. “Of course, I say sure, and I’m going to coaching
camp and see the gamers, and immediately that zeal got here speeding again.”

Since then, she’s been in a position to not solely present teaching on the hockey aspect,
but additionally carry her expertise of being a former participant that thought they’d
nothing left to offer to the game, earlier than realizing the significance of
sticking together with her ardour.

This previous 12 months, on high of holding the function of assistant coach with the
Thunderbirds, Parhar additionally continued to teach throughout the group with the
Vancouver Female Ice Hockey Association. At the group stage, she’s
continues giving again and supporting younger women in hockey, very similar to how
she was supported rising up.

“For a whole lot of feminine hockey gamers now, they didn’t have a feminine function
mannequin, so now that I’m in that place, I consider how cool it should be for
these women to develop up having a job mannequin that they’ll actually relate to,”
Parhar says.

At the top of the day, though it wasn’t at all times her plan to be a coach,
Parhar is having fun with each second of it, and dealing to share her experiences
with hockey and what it has meant to her in spite of everything these years.

“It’s always been for the kids,” Parhar concludes. “To have somebody they’ll
see that appears like them, as tall as them, I need to be there for the ladies
and present them that every one they want is the proper vitality, positivity and
dedication.”