The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is proud to announce its 2020-21 participant in the annual Female Apprentice Coach Program (FACP) for the sport of Golf:
Concordia Thunder, ACAC
Apprentice: Kassidy Turcotte
Mentor: Larry Petryk
Kassidy Turcotte, the reigning Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Female Golfer of the Year, has joined the Concordia Thunder coaching staff this season as an apprentice in the CCAA’s FACP.
Turcotte was a student-athlete at Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) for the past four years and recently graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree. She is now working on her second degree and plans to one day teach and remain involved with athletics as much as possible.
During her time at Concordia, Turcotte was a member of the golf, badminton and curling teams. While golf was her passion, Turcotte was able to utilize her athleticism and make meaningful contributions to the other Thunder teams.
“Kassidy has an infectious zest for life and was a very special athlete in our program,” said Joel Mrak, Director, Department of Athletics & Recreation at CUE. “She embodies what it means to be a true team player, regardless if she has known you for five minutes or five years.”
Turcotte enjoyed multiple CCAA Championship appearances during her collegiate golf career. Last season, her discipline and courage were capped off with an individual gold medal performance at the ACAC Championships.
She will be mentored this year by her former coach Larry Petryk in a rearranged season. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the ACAC has moved its golf season to the spring and competitions are scheduled to take place from April to June.
The 2020-21 season is like none other in CCAA history and even though league play and National Championships may not be proceeding as normal, coach education and training – which is key to the CCAA's FACP – is being further supplemented via the FACP Leadership Development Program. This Leadership Program is developed by former CCAA student-athlete and current CCAA Head Coach and Doctoral student Danielle Cyr, who will be facilitating the mentorship process.
Nonetheless, the Thunder has been training together this fall and Turcotte is assisting with technical components as well as coming up with creative games and competitions to keep everyone motivated and focused. At the spring tournaments, Petryk will oversee the men’s team, while Turcotte will be responsible for the women’s squad.
She is certainly more than familiar with CCAA and ACAC Golf and what is expected from student-athlete golfers.
“I feel as though my experience on the team will help facilitate the process moving forward as there will be two coaches available at all times,” said Turcotte. “Also, having a female coach is beneficial for the team because the female student-athletes will have a mentor/supervisor.”
Having been around golf since she was five years old, Turcotte has noticed the sport is very male dominant. She hopes to be a role model to female student-athletes.
“I believe it’s important to encourage and inspire young girls and women to play golf as well as to pursue their golf career,” said Turcotte.
Meanwhile, Petryk is enjoying being challenged by his apprentice as well as sharing some of the workload with a competent individual.
“Kassidy is very technically proficient with her own swing and can demonstrate excellent form for everyone to model after,” he said.
Turcotte is familiar with Petryk’s coaching style and techniques and is relishing the experience of assisting him with drills and offering technical and mental advice during practices.
“My goal is to be knowledgeable and motivating, and I hope my presence on the team will have a positive influence on the players and make their season enjoyable,” said Turcotte, who has been fortunate to have amazing coaches throughout her life who have helped grow her passion for sport.
These leaders, Petryk included, have always encouraged her to keep improving and become the best athlete she could be.
“Working with Larry has been unbelievable, and I’ve learned so much,” said Turcotte. “He is incredibly knowledgeable, and I am grateful to coach alongside him and continue learning from him.”
Media Contact:
Rodney Wilson / rodney@ccaa.ca
Manager, Communications & Events
