Manitoba’s 2024 BFL Canada Female Coach of the Year Award winners announced
BFL CANADA and Hockey Canada announced that Regan Boulton has been named Manitoba’s 2024 BFL Canada Female Competitive Coach of the Year Award winner and Brenda McCallum has been named Manitoba’s 2024 BFL Canada Female Community Coach of the Year Award winner. Both winners will receive a $1,000 bursary.
Regan Boulton is entering her 6th season as the Balmoral Hall Blazers Assistant Coach. After graduating from Balmoral Hall in 2009, Regan went on to play NCAA division I hockey for the Quinnipiac Bobcats in the ECAC (2009-2013). She spent four successful seasons with the Bobcats, earning the most points by a defenseman in Quinnipiac history (77 points in 138 games) and captaining the Bobcats her senior year.
After university, Regan was offered a professional hockey contract in Vienna, Austria where she spent two years playing for the Vienna Sabres in the Austrian League, Elite Women’s Hockey League (EWHL), and European Cup Champions tournaments. During her down time in Vienna, Regan was an English tutor and volunteer coach for the Vienna Tigers U-10 boys team. Following her return home from Europe, Regan joined the coaching staff of the U18 AAA Yellowhead Chiefs of the MFMHL during the 2015-2016 season. Regan helped lead the Chiefs to win the provincial title for the first time in program history.
In 2019, Regan was named an Assistant Coach of Team Manitoba at the National Women’s U18 Championships which took place in Morden, Manitoba. Shortly after, she was selected to be one of 30 women in Canada to represent Hockey Canada as part of the Women Master Coach Developer program. The We Are Coaches program is designed to increase the number of trained women coaches in Canada to provide women mentors and role models for young participants.
Brenda McCallum is an exemplary choice for the 2024 BFL Canada Female Community Coach of the Year Award because of her dedication and impact to her community’s hockey program. Brenda was the assistant coach of the APHA U13 Winterhawks A2-B Red during the 2023-2024 season and has coached various levels, including U7, U9, and U11 since she began coaching in 2018. Many of the children that Brenda has coached at the U7/U9 level have very limited/basic skating skills, and Brenda soon becomes their de facto skating coach. Her previous experience with competitive speed skating makes her an optimal choice to undertake such a challenge.
It takes a lot of dedication and patience, but by the end of the season, all those who came under her wing are proficient skaters. Brenda always strives to foster a positive and fun environment for her team, all the while making sure that the players develop their skills and are made to feel part of the teams success. Whether as a head coach or an assistant coach, Brenda has been integral to the success of the teams she has coached and she continues to be a positive role model for all players that are fortunate to cross paths with her.
Brenda leads by example and demonstrates fair play and sportsmanship to the players she mentors, and understands that players are not only part of a team, but also individuals and coaches each player to those individual needs and skill levels.
Hockey Manitoba would like to thank Regan and Brenda for their hard work, determination and for having such a positive impact on female hockey in the province.
How are the winners selected?
A selection committee is tasked with choosing the national winners from all nominations. This committee will include Canadian women’s hockey leaders, accompanied by leaders from BFL CANADA and Hockey Canada.
About BFL Canada
Founded in 1987 by Barry F. Lorenzetti, BFL CANADA is one of the largest employee-owned and operated Risk Management, Insurance Brokerage and Employee Benefits Consulting Services firms in North America. The firm has a team of over 1000 professionals located in 23 offices across the country. BFL CANADA is a founding partner of Lockton Global LLP, a partnership of independent insurance brokers who provide Risk Management, Insurance and Benefits Consulting services in over 140 countries around the world. For more information, visit bflcanada.ca or follow on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
For more information about the BFL Female Coach of the Year and to see the full list of recipients, click here
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