for girls and if you wanted to play at a higher level, you needed to go to Notre Dame or Warner or Pursuit of Excellence or down to Minnesota and play for Shattuck.
“ That was a really expensive option, but I had talked to Notre Dame when Balmoral started its program in 2007- 08. So I went to BH for Grade 12, right after we won the Midget Double A championship at Pembina Trails. I had already been named captain for the following season, but I sat down with my family and we decided to join the BH program in its second year.”
That was a great team, a team that included Canadian Olympic team member Bailey Bram, Toronto Furies star Jenelle Kohanchuk and former UND leading scorer Michelle Dufault.
It didn’ t long for the scouts to notice Zacharias and in her Grade 12 year, she narrowed down her NCAA Division 1 scholarship choices to Syracuse, Niagara and Brown.
“ Most of my life, I think I’ d always had the goal of going to an Ivy League college,” she said.“ So I got the offer from Brown and I just loved the campus on my visit there. However, there are no athletic scholarships at Ivy League schools, so it would have been very, very expensive.
“ So I sat down with my family and we discussed it and my parents were ready to make the sacrifices necessary to send me there. But in the end, I just couldn’ t do that to my family. And I didn’ t want the pressure that I knew would follow me, knowing that I had to succeed simply because of the expense involved in sending me to Brown.
“ So I chose Niagara and the full scholarship and had four wonderful years there, on another campus I just loved and then I returned home and my life changed.” Upon returning home she went to work for Kevin Chief at WASAC( Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre). Her mom is the Aboriginal Academic Affairs consultant for the province and she liked and respected Kevin, so she found it was a good fit.“ But at the time, the BH assistant coach went off for maternity leave,” Sarah recalled.“ They needed a coach to replace Anne( Hedley), but I wasn’ t thinking about applying for the job. I was happy at WASAC. I was program director there, working with Kevin and the kids, I was really happy, but it just so happens that Darlene Sveinson, the BH strength and conditioning coach … well, I’ m best friends with her son. I was over at their house for a family dinner and she said,‘ Zach, you have to apply for this job. You’ re the perfect person for it.’“ The deadline for applications had passed and I didn’ t know if they’ d even take my application, but
Gerry( Wilson), my old coach, was the head coach, my best friend’ s mom was one of the coaches and they said put your name in. So I did and within a week I had the position. All of a sudden, my life was on a totally different trajectory. Now, here I am coaching.”
This year, Zacharias is in what she called“ a bit of a rebuilder,” but with the solid group of Grade 9s and 10s entering BH this year, the Blazers should be a powerhouse by 2018-19.
And of course, at Balmoral Hall, winning isn’ t everything. As head coach, Zacharias is focused on getting her young players to the next level – NCAA Division I, U Sport and even NCAA Division III programs.
“ We’ re focusing on options for all of our players,” she said.“ We’ re still sending more than 50 per cent of our girls to NCAA Division 1 schools, that’ s always been the gold ring, but we’ re looking much more closely at U Sport programs. These Canadian programs are terrific and they are a wonderful next-level option for many of our players.”
As Sarah Zacharias once said:“ The trajectory of my life changed when I enrolled at Balmoral Hall and that’ s why I love this place.
“ And I’ m so proud to be taking on this role as the first female Director of Hockey in program history, while also having the first all-female Prep coaching staff in our province,” Sarah added.“ I grew up with my dad and other dads as coaches and while it was great, there’ s something positive about our girls having a female role model to look up to-- someone who has walked their path and can relate to what they are going through.
“ Female hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in Canada, and I’ m just proud and honored to be a part of it.” ❍
Left; Regan Boulton at Quinnipiac. Above; Balmoral Hall coach Sarah Zacharias
124 | GAME ON | SEPTEMBER 2017