You may have seen Sarah Thompson featured in our iPlayHockey Drill Vault video series back in 2018. Watch here as she runs through a demonstration of the Team Canada Double Shot – one of many drills from the iPlayHockey Skills Series. Three years later, she has come full circle, joining our team at CARHA Hockey as a Community Programs Intern.

Since working with iPlayHockey in 2018, she played two seasons for the Nepean Wildcats in the PWHL, competed for Team Ontario Red at the 2019 National Women’s Under-18 Hockey Championship and for the National Women’s U18 Team at the 2020 IIHF Women’s U18 World Championship in Slovakia. She is now a rising sophomore at Syracuse University playing for the DI Women’s Ice Hockey Team. Thompson is currently studying Sport Management in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, with a planned double minor in Sport Analytics and Francophone Studies.

Tell us about your Internship – what is your role as the Community Programs Intern and why CARHA Hockey?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to pursue a career in sports. I’ve wanted to give back and bring that same joy and happiness to others the way sports did for me. CARHA Hockey has given me the chance to be involved in an association that takes initiative in growing the game of hockey and bringing a community together. As the Community Programs Intern, I will help develop and implement initiatives that increase company visibility within the surrounding community. I am excited to help promote #HockeyVacciNation, our campaign dedicated to amplifying stories of positivity, vaccination, and perseverance.

How was your first season playing for the Women’s Ice Hockey Team at Syracuse University?
Although this past year has presented us all with several unprecedented challenges, I couldn’t be more grateful to have spent the year studying at Syracuse University and playing DI hockey. Our athletic department did an incredible job accommodating student-athletes and giving us all the opportunity to compete in a safe environment. Our team played a total of 22 games and was just shy of winning the CHA Championship, falling 1-0 in the final to Robert Morris University. I think I speak for all my teammates in saying that we are very anxious to return to campus in the fall to play a regular schedule, to compete against teams in and outside of the CHA, and to earn a spot at the NCAA Tournament!

What have you been up to since you have been back in Ottawa and what are your training plans for the summer?
Since I’ve been back home, I’ve been able to spend some much-needed quality time with my family. Nothing beats a late-night drive and some car karaoke with my sister! I’ve also been able to have some fun and get creative with my training. As much as I love to be on the ice and lifting weights in the gym every single day, sometimes it pays big to switch things up and challenge yourself in new ways. I’ve spent a lot of time running through sprinting drills at the Greens Creek Hill, working on plyometrics on my front lawn, rollerblading all over the Ottawa area and taking day-hikes at Algonquin Park. As athletes, our bodies become accustomed to the stresses we place upon it throughout the season, so it’s been great to give my body a break from my normal routine and make changes to my program design.

Photos courtesy of Sarah Thompson