The University of Toronto Varsity Blues program is pleased to announce that four-time Olympic gold medalist Jayna Hefford is joining the women's hockey coaching staff on a full-time basis, effective immediately.
Hefford has served as an assistant under former Team Canada teammate and head coach Vicky Sunohara for the past five seasons. The native of Kingston, Ont., is now joining the program on a full-time basis, and Sunohara emphasizes the immediate impact it will have on the team:
"This is so exciting for our program," said Sunohara. "Ever since we started playing together we've had great chemistry. Now, when it comes to coaching, I think we have different coaching styles that complement each other very well. I have no doubt that Jayna, through her playing experience and ability to motivate, will be a valuable resource towards making our team better."
Hefford is a seven-time world champion and ranks second in Canadian women's hockey history in all-time games played (267), goals (157) and points (291).
She ranked second on the team in scoring when she helped Canada to a gold medal at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. She represented Canada at five consecutive Olympic Games (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014), winning gold four times.
The Varsity Blues alumna was inducted into the U of T Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. While at U of T, Hefford helped the Blues to the Ontario silver medal and earned OWIAA all-star honours in 1997.
She is an advance high performance certified coach and has been a guest coach at both under-18 and under-22 levels for the Canadian national teams.
"I'm excited to be a part of the Varsity Blues program on a full-time basis," said Hefford. "It will be great to be around such talented and motivated athletes, while representing a University that I'm so proud to be a part of. I hope I can help play a small part in getting the program to the next level. The commitment from the University to hire a full-time assistant shows their dedication to the program and their expectation for high performance results."
The Varsity Blues open their 2016-17 regular season on the road as they travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors on Friday, October 14. After a stop at Ryerson, the Blues return to Varsity Arena for their home opener versus the defending OUA champion Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, October 22.
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