GANDER, NL – When the Gander Flyers take to the ice this weekend, the team will do so with its first female trainer, Stephanie Winsor, on the bench.
General manager Garry White approached Winsor earlier this year about taking on the role.
Having spent 12 years involved with the Gander Minor Hockey Association and currently its president, Winsor is a certified trainer. She has also been a nurse for the past 22 years, working as both an emergency room and a coastal nurse.
“I was so honoured that the Gander Flyers thought I could bring something to the team,” she said. “I’m really excited for our home opener … and it’s exciting to have so much local availability on the bench this year.”
Winsor said she is looking to bring a different aspect to her role as trainer.
“I’ll be bringing a nurturing role, clinical skills role and energy, while highlighting the fact that there is room for females in that venue,” she said. “It’s trailblazing for women, and that’s something I’m very proud to be a part of.”
Glass ceiling
With Winsor taking up the position as trainer, Janice Fitzgerald being appointed the Gander Flyers Club president and Rebecca Russell being the head coach of the Clarenville Caribous, she said, it puts a few cracks in the glass ceiling when it comes to hockey.
“We are really trying to grow female hockey in Gander, so having that visibility, at that level, truly moves it forward in leaps and bounds,” Winsor said. “It shows there is more to hockey than testosterone.”
