Your Coaches

Jaclyn Hawkins

Kacey Bellamy

Carson Duggan

Barb Egan

Jaclyn
Hawkins

Founder & Coach

Our fearless leader (you can call her Coach Hawk, if you want) has done it all—on and off the ice.

Creating Women’s Hockey Life in 2010, Hawk has built the platform for a diverse hockey community around the world with one goal in mind: empowering women and girls to live their hockey dreams at all ages and levels.

Coach Hawk started Women’s Hockey Life Academy in 2017, using her extensive hockey experience and knowledge to help female hockey players navigate the college hockey recruiting process.

WHL Academy is a resource she built based on what she lacked during her own hockey journey, which started in her hometown of Manotick, Ontario and took her to the University of Connecticut as both an NCAA DI player and coach, the Boston Blades in the former CWHL, and across the pond to play with the ZSC Lions in Switzerland.

Coach Hawk’s drive to ensure players not only gain the skills to land them on the roster of their dreams, but also life-long skills that allow them to be successful beyond the classroom and the rink make her one of the best resources available to young female athletes.

Playing & Coaching Experience

NCAA Division 1 Full-Scholarship Student Athlete

President of Women’s Hockey Life Ltd.

Founder and Coach of WHL Academy

USCHO and Hockey East Rookie of the Year 2005

UConn’s all-time goals, assists, and points leader

Hockey East’s Sportsmanship Award (2008)

Former NCAA Division 1 Assistant Coach

Former Director of Player & Organizational Development with CT Northern Lights

Played professionally in Switzerland for the ZSC Lions

Played professionally for the Boston Blades of the CWHL

Clarkson Cup Champion (2012)

Competed internationally for Hockey Canada

Attended the Taft School

Former Assistant Coach at UConn

Carson
Duggan

NCAA DI & DIII Coach

Coach Carson has lived her dreams playing and coaching NCAA DI hockey and now she brings her experience to help educate players and their families on how they can achieve their goals.

Growing up in Ma-Me-O Beach, Alberta, Coach Carson remembers how overwhelming the recruiting process was. After an NCAA DI playing career with St. Lawrence University and an NCAA DI and DIII coaching career with the University of Connecticut, Ohio State University, and Trinity college, plus a professional playing stint in Prague for HC Slavia Praha, Coach Carson joined WHL Academy to ensure other young female hockey players can live their hockey dreams.

Coach Carson is the ultimate (virtual) coach to have in your corner as she uses her in depth knowledge of the recruiting process and college leagues across North America to further WHL Academy’s mission of empowering female hockey players to live their college dreams.

Playing & Coaching Experience

NCAA Division 1 Full-Scholarship Student Athlete

Former Assistant Coach at UConn

Former Assistant Coach at Ohio State University

Former Head Coach at Trinity College

Former Assistant Coach at Trinity College

All-time Leading Goal Scorer at St. Lawrence University

ECAC Rookie of the Year

NESCAC Coach of the Year

Master’s degree in economics from Trinity College

Master’s degree in Sports Administration from Ohio University

Played professionally for HC Slavia Praha, 2009-2010

Kacey
Bellamy

Mindset Coach

The rock solid mindset our WHL Academy players leave the program with is taught by one of the best to have played our game: Kacey Bellamy. Though she needs little introduction as her achievements speak for themselves, Coach Bellamy’s incredible career as an NCAA DI student-athlete and coach, a USA National Team member for 15 years, and Olympic experience is invaluable to WHL Academy’s impact on our players, on and off the ice.

Coach Bellamy attributes much of her success (including an Olympic gold and two silver medals) to her and her teammates’ buy-in to one of the most important aspects of our game—mindset. Now, she’s sharing this crucial piece of the game with our WHL Academy members as one of our mindset coaches.

Playing & Coaching Experience

NCAA Division 1 full scholarship student-athlete

Hockey East Champion x4

ACHA All-American (2009)

Former Assistant Coach at Merrimack College

Olympic Gold Medalist (2018)

Olympic Silver Medalist (2014 & 2010)

USA Women’s National Team (15 years)

IIHF World Championship (8 Gold, 1 Silver)

NWHL Isobel Cup Champion (2016)

Clarkson Cup Champion (2013, 2015, 2019)

Attended the Berkshire School

Barb
Egan

Mindset Coach

Coach Barb believes everyone has a story worth sharing and works to listen to and empower our athletes on their mental health journeys as a registered clinical counsellor.

Before moving to Canada, where her family resides in Kelowna, British Columbia, Coach Barb played and coached NCAA DI hockey at The Ohio State University. Her coaching resume expanded in Canada with the University of British Columbia (U SPORTS) and the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy.

Now, Coach Barb draws on her playing (providing valuable insight as a former goaltender) and coaching experience to help our WHL Academy members solidify their mindsets through sports psychology strategies to improve their on-ice performance and help them deal with the pressures of being an elite athlete.

Coach Barb empowers our members to pursue their hockey dreams with positivity, action, and confidence.

Playing & Coaching Experience

NCAA Division 1 Full-Scholarship Student Athlete

Former Assistant Coach at the Ohio State University

Former Assistant Coach at the University of British Columbia

Former Coach at the Pursuit of Excellence (POE)

USA Hockey Olympic Development Program

Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University

Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology

A registered clinical counsellor

Back-to-back National Championships with Shattuck St. Mary’s

Founder and owner of Alive Counselling

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Testimonials

In my experience the biggest difference maker for girls is confidence. I know for my daughter the WHL Academy mindset instruction was the most valuable (and priceless) part of the program. Every case is different; but if you want my…

Timothy P.

Jaclyn, I wanted to take a moment to reach out and thank you for the time you took to talk to my daughter Abby and for answering my messages with kindness and encouragement. Even though we didn’t sign up for…

Heather D.

Jaclyn & Carson have been a huge help during Maddie’s recruiting process. They helped explain the college recruiting landscape and the process to our family. We chose WHL Academy because it placed the onus of the work on our daughter,…

Pete DiNardo

I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the skills I learned and the support I was given from you and your team! Thank you!

Emma J.

Thank you so much for all your help with this Jaclyn. I’m so passionate about hockey and just knowing that I have this great opportunity to keep playing competitively feels like my dream is coming true. I definitely wouldn’t have…

Sam I.

Our daughter signed up in grade 9. We thought it may have been too early to start. We were wrong. In 8 weeks, we knew what her next 4 years would look like and had a game plan in place.…

Steve H.

We wish we had known about your program before we signed up with NCSA. We love what you are offering and think it’s a fantastic model. Your posts on here have been beyond helpful so we can only imagine how…

Markita

Listen to Jaclyn Hawkins on this! She is the best, and the team she has built is the most knowledgeable in the industry for helping guide girls to the college level of play. She and her crew are always there…

Jeff Stebbeds

The process really has to be drive by the athlete. Parents are there to support, encourage and assist, of course. The drive, determination and motivation really needs to come from the kid. WHL Academy provides the athlete and parents with…

Susan Bedier

I wanted my daughter to gain confidence and to know how to contact coaches from various programs. It’s a feeling of support that has lasted long past the initial 8 weeks and those first few months of the process. Jaclyn…

Parent

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