There will be a different look behind the bench for the Battlefords Sharks when the 2018-19 Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League campaign begins.
The team announced Monday morning that Kelsey Harder and Doug Milne will be the head coach and assistant coach respectively for the upcoming season, with their first official tasks being involved with the running of this past week’s spring camp.
“It’s been exciting here over the last couple of days as we get started,” Harder said. “It’s been great to see the talent on display here at the rink this week and it really helps us set a base for where we want to be when the season gets underway.
“I thought the season was over but we’re right back into the swing of things once again,” Milne joked. “It’s been a lot of fun here this week and to see the amount of work that the girls put in at camp has us both excited for what’s ahead.
Gary Berggren was the head coach of the Sharks for the last two years, with Rachel Trach and Will Tupper serving as his assistants.
Harder, who is a former player with the Saskatchewan Huskies, has spent the last four years as coach with the Saskatoon Comets program.
This past season she led the Bantam AA Comets to a quarter-final run in the North Saskatchewan Female Hockey League playoffs.
“It’s been a pretty cool change for me as I’ve made the transition from playing to coaching,” Harder said. “I’ve brought a lot of the values that I learned from the coaches that I had when I was a player to my role behind the bench.
“The biggest focus for me is to make sure that the girls have confidence out on the ice. You can draw up all the X’s and O’s you want on the board, but it’s the players that make the decisions during the game.”
When asked what kind of team she likes to have, Harder stressed having a balanced approach.
“A lot of it depends on the personnel, but I wouldn’t say there’s a preference to having an offensively minded team or one that’s stronger on defence,” Harder said.
“I like to have a team that’s fast and aggressive in limiting the time and space for the other teams, along with making chances for themselves when they have the puck.”
A longtime coach of minor hockey in Turtleford, Milne spent this past season as the head coach for the Battlefords Sharks Midget AA program.
“Teaching kids in general and watching their skills grow over time is the biggest thrill for me as a coach, and I think that’s the same for everyone no matter what level they are at,” Milne said.
“Obviously the higher you go the more challenging the coaching aspect gets, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Harder and Milne have a good base to build off of following this week’s spring camp, which saw 58 players take to the ice at the Civic Centre.
“We’re essentially using this week as an ID camp for who we’d like to have back in the fall for our main camp,” Harder said. “It’s also allowed us to get to know the veterans who are planning to be back next year, which gives a nice head start towards the summer when we sign players.
“It’s always good to have choices and we certainly have a number of players we can pick from based on what we’ve seen over the last couple of days,” Milne added.
