Once a Tiger, always a Tiger
From left: Annie Sheridan, Celeste Doucet, Amanda Benoit-Wark, Julia Hutton. Photo: BILL POTRECZ
Every day is a Ridley reunion behind the bench of the school’s Prep Girls hockey program.
Head coach Amanda Benoit-Wark, who started with the program in 2008, couldn’t be happier looking down the bench and seeing alumni assistants Celeste Doucet, Annie Sheridan and Julia Hutton.
“It’s pretty cool,” Benoit-Wark said. “The biggest thing I notice and remember is the obviously the impact they have on the school and the school had on them. Getting them to come back is a huge part of it but it’s always awesome and you look down and they understand your systems, they understand what you’re trying to do because they were a part of it as well.
“They understand what Ridley’s all about, they understand what the community here is all about and to have a message that is unified from all of us, I think it’s really important.”
Doucet, now in her 13th season, was the first to return.
“Celeste just fell upon my lap which was probably the best find ever,” Benoit-Wark said. “She was a student here, a hockey player here and went off to play university hockey and came back to work as a teacher and coach.”
Benoit-Wark is proud of the longevity she has with Doucet.
“Most coaching staffs don’t stay together that long. We walk into rinks and we talk to different people and they’re shocked we’re still together,” she smiled. “It’s unbelievable.”
Doucet, who hails from Memramcook, N.B., began her Ridley career leading the girls’ program to their first ever CISAA (Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario Athletic Association) championship in 2006. She captained the team in her senior year and was also awarded Ridley’s Female Athlete of the Year. After Ridley, Doucet skated for New Brunswick at the 2007 Canada Winter Games at Whitehorse, Yukon and played for several other New Brunswick provincial teams including the U18 Atlantic Challenge Cup and the Senior Women’s Esso National Senior Championships squads. In July 2007, she attended Hockey Canada National Women’s Under-19 Program Evaluation Camp in Calgary. She also played four years at University of Vermont where she finished her teaching degree.
“When I was here as a player I never thought I would be back here. Just knowing my family is from New Brunswick, it never was a path that I was for sure coming back,” Doucet said.
Doucet, 34, doesn’t regret her decision for a second.
“I picked up and moved and never looked back,” she said.
Sheridan, a 25-year-old Mississauga native, began her Ridley career in 2012, attending the Upper School for all four years. She took full advantage of the Ridley experience but her primary focus was on academics, athletics, and the cadet program. She was named captain of the Prep Girls Hockey team in her last two seasons and in her senior year, was awarded the program’s Most Valuable Player and Ridley’s Female Athlete of the Year.
After her career at Ridley, Sheridan played five years at Laurentian University, earning the captaincy in 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. Once completing her degree in Physical and Health Education, she returned to Ridley in the fall of 2022. Sheridan wears multiple hats at Ridley, teaching physical education in the Lower School and acting as the K-3 Athletic Coordinator.
“It’s kind of crazy, you get a different perspective of it,” Sheridan said. “You get the student perspective of it and different picture of it. When you’re a student it’s sometimes hard to appreciate things because you’re so young and then you come back as an adult and you (realize) this place is awesome. There are so many different aspects to it and unique to Ridley.”
She is thrilled to be a Tiger again.
“It’s nice to be part of the community again. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after university and as soon as I came back this was where I wanted to be.
“I knew I wanted to coach coming back, but I didn’t realize how much I wanted to coach until I started coaching with those two (Wark, Doucette) because they coached me and now coming back, I couldn’t imagine life otherwise.”
Hutton, 25, began her Ridley College hockey career in 21013 with the Prep Girls team as a Grade 10 student. After graduating from Brock with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Communications, she returned to Ridley as Assistant Head of House — Gooderham East. She rejoined the hockey team as an assistant coach in the fall of 2021.
“I was supposed to go into marketing and communications and then I ended up coming back to Ridley through COVID,” Hutton said.
She was overjoyed when she was made part of the hockey staff.
“I love being part of the team. I was something I really missed during university so just to be back in a team environment again has been really special,” Hutton said. “It beings back a lot of great memories and it’s especially great I get to do it with Annie, she was my teammate and captain, I feel like I get to relive some of those memories.”
Hutton, who also teaches yoga, is proud of the Ridley way.
“This is like a little bit of a different set up at Ridley in terms of hockey life. School comes first is our rule and then hockey is your reward. Everything is your priority. Something that we’re really proud of is having a bunch of well-rounded kids, not just athletes, but student-athletes who are also involved in a tons of other activities.”
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