High Performance
Barrie Sharks High-Performance Program (HPP)
The Barrie Women’s Hockey Association is committed to building better athletes for performance in sport and life. This commitment is achieved through programs that allow players at every age and skill level to continue striving for excellence - including competitive and recreational opportunities to play hockey for new players, developing youth players, and adults.
Our Barrie Sharks High-Performance Program is specifically designed for our youth players who are at, or pushing themselves to get to, the highest level of performance. The program will provide athletes with an opportunity to take their game to the next level under the guidance of instructors and coaches with exceptional experience in sport that will provide them with the necessary tools to excel on and off the ice.
High-Performance Program Principles:
Vision
To build better athletes for performance in sport and life.
Mission
To provide athletes with an opportunity to realize their full potential to play hockey at the highest level of performance, under the guidance of exceptional instructors and coaches and through participation in activities and experiences designed to provide them with the skills, tactics and mindset to succeed on and off the ice.
Program Core Values
| Inspire athletes that will be leaders in the association, and in the community. | Help athletes to develop integrity, courage and self-esteem | Support the overall emotional and physical well-being of our players. | Foster a high-performance environment that is positive, safe, and respectful at all times. |
Participant Core Values
| To bring maximum effort to every activities, on and off the ice. | To be exceptional teammates to each other, and all players | To represents the Barrie Sharks with honour and integrity, and to be a role model of the association’s core values |
High Performance Program Features
High Performance Program Staff The Barrie Sharks High Performance Program will be supported by highly experienced coaches who will incorporate a multifaceted approach to development that will include; on ice skill sessions with talented processionals, off ice sessions to enhance their growth as athletes and people, use of the many athletic facilities that Barrie has to offer and a an association commitment to prepare players for life in hockey, school and life endeavours.
| Frequent player assessment designed to encourage continuous growth and development | On-Ice activities to advance mastery of the highest level of hockey skills and tactics. | Off-ice physical training activities to challenge players to increase their physical abilities. |
| Mental training to provide athletes with the tools and mindsets to promote positive mental health. | Integrated approach to promote a higher level of interaction between teams and players in the high-performance program. | Higher level of coordination between teams to maximize opportunities for players to play and practice with higher level teams. |
High Performance Program Staff
The Barrie Sharks High Performance Program will be supported by highly experienced coaches who will incorporate a multifaceted approach to development that will include; on ice skill sessions with talented processionals, off ice sessions to enhance their growth as athletes and people, use of the many athletic facilities that Barrie has to offer and a an association commitment to prepare players for life in hockey, school and life endeavours.
HPP Leadership
 | Duane Eldridge - jrsharks@bwha.ca Duane Eldridge is a highly experienced coach with over 20 years of coaching and player development experience. He has led teams at the AA level for all age groups, including our Barrie Jr. Sharks (Intermediate AA) team. During his time with us, he helped over 20 players achieve their goal of playing competitive USPORTS/NCAA hockey in Canada and the United States. Duane is passionate about player development. He has a proven track record of assessing player skills, creating team and individual development plans, and successfully executing these plans to help players achieve their goals. |
 | Jay Zealand - jay.zealand@bwha.ca Jay has been involved in minor league sports for almost 25 years with coaching experience in competitive levels for hockey, lacrosse and baseball. Teams and associations he has worked with include York Simcoe Express, Barrie Minor Lacrosse, Bradford Minor Hockey and most recently the BWHA. Jay also brings leadership and strategy experience from his years working with the OMHA as a convenor and Bradford Minor Hockey as the VP of House league & Hockey Canada Pathway Development. |
HPP Team Coaches
| U22 Jr. Sharks
| Duane Eldridge - jrsharks-coach@bwha.ca Coach Eldridge possesses extensive coaching and player development expertise of over 20 years, encompassing positions across all age groups at the AA level. Notably, he previously spearheaded our Barrie Jr. Sharks (Intermediate AA) team from 2014 to 2018, where he facilitated the achievement of the competitive goals of over 20 players who successfully transitioned to play USPORTS/NCAA hockey in Canada and the United States. |
| U18AA
| Kayley Powers - kaley.powers@bwha.ca Kaley Powers has played hockey for over 25 years, first at the AA level as a youth player before playing for the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks in the what is now U-Sports (previously Canadian Interuniversity Sports). After relocating to Barrie, Kaley joined our U15-AA Sharks as an assistant coach for the 2022-23 season. Having experienced the high performance journey, Kaley knows what is required to help our players to find success at the elite level, both on and off the ice. |
| U18AA
| Mike White - mike.white@bwha.ca Mike White has coached with the BWHA for over 10 years, leading 8 different teams as head coach including our U9-A, U11-AA, U13-AA, U15-A and U18-A teams, as well as assistant with U22-AA (Jr Sharks) team. Coach White’s teams have won multiple regular season title and league championships, along with multiple prestigious tournaments, including an International Silver Stick Final, and the Bell Capital Cup for the two years in a row (2016, 2017). |
| U15AA
| Sam Reid - sam.reid@bwha.ca Coach Sam Reid, a native of Innisfil, Ontario, will lead the U15-AA Sharks team for the 2023-24 season. With almost three decades of experience in elite-level hockey as a player and coach, including winning championships with the Toronto Aeros in the inaugural year of the Provincial Women's Hockey League, Coach Reid brings a wealth of knowledge to the team. Additionally, she played for the Connecticut University Huskies in NCAA-Division 1. Coach Reid's coaching experience spans over 12 years and includes positions at the PWHL (U22-AA), U18-AA, and U-Sports levels. She will leverage her expertise in playing and coaching at the highest levels to help the U15 athletes develop the necessary skills and mindset to achieve success. |
HPP Facilitators/Partners/Instructors
"Our on-ice and off-ice skill facilitators for the 2023-24 season.
 | Taylor Staden - Mental Performance Coach Taylor Staden is a Mental Performance Consultant, accredited by the Canadian Sport Psychology Association. A lifelong athlete, he became passionate about mental performance while still in high-school. Fast-forward to now, this passion has led him to learn from world-renowned professors and consultants. Taylor has actively provided mental performance consulting services to athletes and teams across ice hockey, tennis, swimming, canoe slalom and more. Past and current clientele include National Team athletes, as well as others across the AHL, OHL, NCAA, U SPORTS, and more. Taylor has also been the Mental Performance Consultant for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) since the 2021-22 season. |
 | Jackie McKenzie - Registered Dietitian & Sports Nutritionist Jackie McKenzie is a Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario (1997) and a combined Dietetic Internship and Masters of Science degree in Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Guelph and Hamilton Health Sciences Centre (1999). In 2013, she completed the Intensive Sports Nutrition Course with the Sports Dietitians of Australia. Practicing as a Registered Dietitian for over 20 years, Jackie has worked in a variety of clinic settings offering practical and leading edge nutrition solutions for general wellness, weight management, eating disorders, disease prevention and sports performance |
 | Heather Dix - Collegiate Academic Advisor As an educational advisor, Heather provides advice and direction based on each student’s specific needs after in-depth consultation and research. After working with the student exploring their interests, learning style, expectations and career aspirations, she will recommend programs/areas of study and universities and colleges that match the student’s needs. Her extensive experience and knowledge of Ontario, Canadian and US university and college systems enables her to provide both prospective and current post-secondary students, objective advice and guidance, allowing the student to make an informed choice. |
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Dawn Stephens- Academic Advisor Committee Lead Dawn Stephens is an experienced educator with over 20 years in secondary education. Dawn has supported many athletes in their post-secondary athletic careers and is very knowledgeable of the requirements of academic readiness to pursue a successful student-athlete pathway. Dawn has been a volunteer with the BWHA and a former player. She is very excited to work with our athletes to support their academic and athletic success. |
 | Randii-Lynn Welsh - Academic Advisory Committee Member Randii-Lynn Welsh is a Registered Social Worker with a Masters of Social Work (Specialization in Health & Mental Health) from the University of Toronto. She has worked in Children and Youth Mental Health in both community and hospital settings supporting children and youth aged 0-18, as well as transitional aged youth (18-25) in a post-secondary environment. Randii-Lynn has 25 years experience playing hockey, including playing both boys and girls high performance programs. She is also a certified Development 1 Coach with Hockey Canada with experience coaching U15 A/BB girls hockey teams in Toronto. Randii-Lynn is looking forward to combining her two passions, mental health and hockey, to assist the talented young women prepare for life in hockey, school, and other life endeavours. |
 | Julie Valentine - Academic Advisory Committee Member
Julie Valentine is a high school history teacher and Curriculum Leader of the Canadian and World Studies Department with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. With 19 years of experience in education in Simcoe County, she has taught students in all grades and levels and is qualified in History, Geography, Guidance and First Nations, Metis and Inuit Studies. Julie has been coaching youth athletes for over 20 years. In community sports she has coached minor hockey and softball, and at the high school level she has coached both Flag Football and Girls Rugby. She has experience teaching and coaching high level athletes, many of which have played at provincial and national levels. Julie understands the pressures faced by high level athletes and looks forward to developing a framework for Student-Athletes, their parents, and coaches to ensure a strong foundation for academic success. |
 | Gillian Van Iderstine - Academic Advisory Committee Member
Gillian is an education coordinator with a degree in psychology from the University of Guelph and a post-graduate specialization in Mental Health. She is knowledgeable of the secondary and post-secondary school systems, and is eager to help our athletes navigate the difficulties of being a student athlete. Growing up in Barrie, Gillian is a Sharks alumni having played nine years in the BWHA at the AA level. She is very excited to be an active participant in the organization once again |
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| Two Way Hockey School - Ran by skill development coaches Greg Eskedjian & Mike Berry - 30+ years of on and off-ice hockey instruction, from minor hockey through professional hockey - Both Greg and Mike are former professional hockey players in both North America & Europe Greg Eskedjian: - NCAA National Champion & All American - Director of Hockey Training @ Mind to Muscle - Team Nutritionist for Barrie Colts (OHL) - Professor of Fitness & Health @ Georgian College Mike Berry: - Hockey Canada High Performance Level 1 certified Coach - Former Barrie Colts AAA Head Coach - SCDSB Grade 8 Teacher |
