INNISFAIL – Athletes, coaching staff and volunteers will gather in Red Deer in less than two weeks for the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
That list includes Innisfail’s Allyson Bendfeld.
Bendfeld, 39, will be the video coach for the 2019 Team Alberta U-18 female hockey team.
“This will probably be the biggest competition that I’ll take part in,” said Bendfeld. “When the application process opened for assistant coaches with the Canada Winter Games I put in my application. They asked if I wanted to be the video coach instead and I said I would love the opportunity to learn some new things.”
She pointed out some of her duties in her role as video coach with Team Alberta.
“You’re looking at the game from an entirely different perspective,” said Bendfeld. “The majority of my role (will be) tagging stuff that happens in the game.
"For example, if there’s a forecheck, I’m tagging the forecheck or a shot on goal or power play," she added. "We have specific things that as coaching staff we’re looking at.”
Once the game is over she is tasked to review her tags and create short video clips to play back to the players for teaching points with coaching staff.
Bendfeld brings years of experience to her role, as both a player and a coach. She has been the assistant coach with the Olds College Broncos women’s hockey team for the last four years, and was assistant coach for Team Alberta U-18 female hockey in 2013 and won bronze at the national championships in Calgary.
Just last year, she won a gold medal with the Zone 2 U-16 female hockey team at the 2018 Alberta Winter Games.
Bendfeld said after several camps in recent months, the 2019 Team Alberta U-18 female hockey team is making progress.
“They’re coming together. Since the summer we’ve seen lots of growth from them,” she said, noting a total of 20 players on the roster. “Three of our players played for the U-18 national team and won a gold medal at the world championships (in Japan) at the beginning of January.”
Like her past success, Bendfeld is hoping to continue the same path at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
“Our goal is to win a medal,” said Bendfeld. “We would love to get a medal here at home. We’re in a really tough pool so we have to come out firing on all cylinders and just be ready to go in that first game against B.C.”
Team Alberta plays three consecutive round robin games from Feb. 24 to 26.
