Sarah Hodges, the only head coach in the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey history
REGINA, Saskatchewan — University of Regina women’s hockey head coach Sarah Howald Hodges has been working with different teams in so many capacities for a long time. In addition to being a head coach, she has worked video coach and assistant coach roles in her career. She is a detail-oriented coach who provides her athletes with the vision and direction needed to grow and develop their skills.
Hodges has always loved hockey. She registered to play at Kincardine when she was six years old but was not accepted. Undeterred, she enlisted the next year and was allowed to play Kincardine minor hockey in the house league. During her second year as a novice in KMHA, her coaches were Brian Mercer, Brian Ferris, and Earl Kay.
Although she enjoyed playing there, she moved to Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, at the end of bantam. There, she played midget girls hockey in Grades 11 and 12.
As a student at Dartmouth College, she played four seasons with the College’s NCAA team from 1992-1996 and remains among the school’s all-time top 10 in career points with 75 goals and 71 assists. She was named the team captain during the 1995/1996 season and made it to the All-Ivy First Team. Sarah also played javelin as a Dartmouth track and field team member in addition to playing hockey.
The 46-year old Canadian has been the Head Coach of the University of Regina women’s hockey team since the 1998/99 CIAU (W) season. She has led the U of R team to different leagues, including three CIAU (W) leagues (1998/1999 to 2000-2001 seasons), 15 CIS (W) leagues (2001/2002 to 2015/2016 seasons), and 5 U Sports (W) leagues (2016/2017 to 2020/2021 seasons).
Hodges was also the head coach that led the Canada U18 team to the 2010/2011 WJC-18 (W) league, where she earned a silver medal. In addition, she was a coach mentor at the IIHF Women’s High-Performance Camp of 2013 held in England.
She guided the Cougars to the 2015/2016 Canada West conference, where they finished third with a 12-10-5-1 (W-L-OTW-OTL) record. Afterward, she was named the Canada West Coach of the Year.
Currently in her twenty-third season as the U of R women’s hockey team head coach, Sarah Hodges is married to Chris, and they raise eleven-year-old Annie and six-year-old Madison together. The skilled event planner, coach, leader, and recruiter holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Dartmouth College and got her Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Education and Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Educational Leadership and Administration, General from the University of Regina.
Under her guidance, players have been named All-Canadians, Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Also, some got nominations, more than 15 players made it to 29 Canada West all-star selections, and one player earned the 2011 University of Regina Sports Hall of Fame.
When scouting for players, she looks out for team players with good work ethics and hockey IQ. In addition, she believes they have to be good students off the ice and show some level of independence.
Sarah Hodges loves Regina’s weather and small-town feel. She inspires many young women within Regina and across Canada.
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