PWHL New York has hired a Windsor native.
The team recently announced the hiring of Lauren Williams as an assistant coach.
Williams grew up in Windsor and played for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She played professionally in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League where she was drafted first overall in 2018 and also played professionally in the PWHPA and the Swedish Women’s Hockey League before joining the coaching ranks.
Williams says being named assistant coach is a full-circle moment for her.
"Going from getting drafted in the CWHl the year that it ended up folding and then moving into play in the PWHPA trying to create the sustainable league for women's professional hockey and then playing in Sweden for half a season like it's been a pretty wild ride," says Williams.
She says people used to ask her if she wanted to be a coach and she said absolutely not.
"I didn't see myself getting into this career," she says. "I was really passionate about the mental side of sports and mental health in athletes and thought that what I wanted to focus on full time but I was lucky enough to figure out that I could blend the two together and I found a really deep passion for integrating mental health and mental performance coaching in on ice coaching."
The newest addition behind the bench.
— PWHL New York (@PWHL_NewYork) July 9, 2024
Lauren Williams will officially be joining PWHL New York as an assistant coach.
?? https://t.co/j2uQUNZKD0 pic.twitter.com/iZ7p0Ss2tX
Williams says being from Windsor is a really 'special thing' and believes women's hockey is a growing sport.
"When I was younger I started playing boys because there was no opportunity to play girls and being able to benefit from the growth of women's hockey in the area as a young athlete and now getting to continue to see it expand, I just hope that young girls whether it's in Windsor or in Canada or worldwide can just look at whether it's my story or somebody else's and figure out, hey it's possible for me to do it too," says Williams.
She joins head coach Greg Fargo and assistant coach Josh Sciba behind the bench for PWHL New York.
Williams was an assistant coach for the women's hockey program at Mount Royal University and was also an assistant coach for the Stonehill College Skyhawks’ women’s hockey program.
She has also assisted Hockey Canada’s National Women’s Program as a mental performance consultant.