Karissa Kirkup looking for ‘high compete level’ from players at tryouts

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This article was published 15/06/2024 (538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

She was there as coach for the inaugural girls’ U15 AAA Wheat Kings season, and now she will be bench boss for the inaugural girls’ U18 AAA Wheat Kings season starting this fall.

Appointed head coach this past week, elementary school educator Karissa Kirkup has personal knowledge what it takes to play in the U18 AAA Manitoba Female Hockey League (MFHL).

Brandon-born Kirkup experienced four seasons in the league with the Westman Wildcats, making the Hartney-based team at age 14 during the 2009-10 season. When she left, the Grade 12 student wore the ‘C’ on her jersey.

Along with assistant coach Craig Anderson, Kirkup is looking for certain things when the Wheat Kings hold four tryout sessions at J&G Homes Arena starting this Tuesday at 5 p.m.

“I’m looking for players with a high compete level every time they are on the ice,” she said. “They have to be good skaters of course, be able to communicate well on the ice, and have a positive attitude.

“For me, players need to work hard every shift and have a positive attitude. They need to battle even if they lose the puck … what is your next move without the puck?”

She added, “I know the core group of players coming in, moving up from my team from last season, so I already know how they play.”

CLEAN SLATE

Despite familiarity with some of the players expected to be at J&G Homes Arena for additional tryout sessions on June 20 at 5:30 p.m., the following day at 6 p.m. and on June 22 starting at noon, Kirkup said all participants on the ice arrive with a clean slate. There are no guarantees — players need to earn their spots on the roster.

She wants to see how players establish themselves first — garner her attention with their play. She will be looking if there’s chemistry among potential teammates, and how they perform with and without the puck while being observed from afar.

While it’s not a playoff game, intensity from the players will not be overlooked as the two coaches scribble copious notes down on their tryout paperwork on each player looking to make an impression.

Kirkup won’t be on the ice. Instead, Hockey Brandon has hired facilitators who will run drills to give the players a chance to shake off the rust after being off skates since April.

These individuals will also work the benches as players will be placed on scrimmage teams, with the coaches having an opportunity to see them in game scenarios, not just observing how they skate, shoot and pass the puck during drills. Hockey smarts, or IQ, are just as important as hockey skills, according to Kirkup.

“I want to see what players will show me during our scrimmages,” she said. “We can choose up to 20 players for our roster, but I’m looking at carrying 17 to 18.

“I’m looking for players with a high compete level every time they are on the ice. They have to be good skaters of course, be able to communicate well on the ice, and have a positive attitude. For me, players need to work hard every shift and have a positive attitude. They need to battle even if they lose the puck … what is your next move without the puck?”– Karissa Kirkup

“This will be a different tryout for sure, in June, when a lot of the multi-sport athletes are playing fast-pitch with the Magic, so they will have to be at three of the four sessions, but I’d prefer they be at all four.”

MFHL U18 TRYOUTS

The Wheat Kings were given approval to ice a team for the 2024-25 season following meetings earlier this month with Hockey Brandon, Hockey Manitoba and the MFHL.

With the addition of a Brandon team, the league will grow to include nine teams: Winnipeg Ice, Winnipeg Avros, Westman Wildcats, Yellowhead Chiefs, Interlake Lightning, Eastman Selects, Pembina Valley Hawks and Central Plains Capitals.

A number of teams in the MFHL have already had tryouts, announced their 2024-25 rosters and team captains via social media platforms like X, formerly Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

“With this being our inaugural season, the team still has a lot to do to establish ourselves once we have a roster,” said Kirkup. “It’s interesting to see teams having tryouts this early, as you’ll have the trickle-down effect as players cut in Winnipeg will look to teams like Eastman and Central Plains to play on.”

Looking back at her own U18 AAA playing career starting 15 years ago, hockey tryouts were held in the fall, not a few months after a winter hockey season. The Wildcats and Chiefs usually hold tryouts during the September long weekend.

With the Wheat Kings playing their home games out of J&G Homes Arena, Kirkup said there are plenty of logistics still to work out when it comes to having a permanent dressing room like the U15 AAA and U18 AAA boys’ teams.

SHOWCASE FOR SCOUTS

Moreover, a schedule will not be drawn up until after a July 31 blackout deadline, when teams must let the MFHL know which weekend showcase tournaments they will be playing in during the regular season.

Kirkup said the three-day tournaments, as she recalled from her own experience, are where players showcase their hockey talents against their peers to potentially draw the attention of U.S. and U Sport college and university scouts.

It worked for Kirkup as she was recruited in her senior season by the Maine Black Bears, where she played before returning to Canada and enrolling at the University of Manitoba to continue her post-secondary education to become a teacher. While there, she played for the Bisons in U Sports.

“These tournaments are where the scouts come out to watch players they might be interested in recruiting, so it’s important we play in them besides our regular season games,” she said.

Once her team is picked based on what she observes from the stands at J&G Homes Arena, Kirkup has planned three nightly practices during the season from Tuesday to Thursday.

With the announcement of the U18 AAA Brandon team joining the MFHL, Hockey Brandon has being fielding inquires regarding player eligibility and player transfers.

According to Hockey Manitoba bylaws, any player who has been requested to sign onto a roster by her home female U18 regional team and refuses or fails to register and attend tryouts, is ineligible to transfer out of her home region.

Players who reside in Brandon’s city limits are requested to attend Brandon tryouts. However, players may request, in writing, a transfer from Hockey Brandon.

HOCKEY TRANSFERS

However, Hockey Brandon is currently denying transfers and players/parents can then appeal to Hockey Manitoba prior to the tryouts starting on June 18.

Furthermore, any players residing outside of Brandon will be required to produce a release form from the region they reside in prior to being eligible for the Wheat Kings tryouts.

Kirkup will let Hockey Brandon look after the administrative aspects of icing a U18 AAA team, with her focus instead on developing players who combine hockey with their educational pursuits.

“I want to help these girls to the next level, not just what they do on the ice,” she said, “and school and hockey are big stepping stones for players at the AAA level.

“There has to be balance playing hockey, student life and making friendships.”

For Kirkup, growing up she played many sports up to junior high, but once she was in high school, her focus was on her education from Grade 9 to Grade 12. That’s when she decided hockey would be her main focus, and training to be the best hockey player she could be commenced.

“I enjoyed playing lots of sports, including softball, because some of these sports can transfer to your hockey, but I decided hockey would be my sport.”

She even had a part-time job in Virden from Grade 9 to 11 when her parents bought and opened a Tim Hortons franchise in 2009.

“I worked the drive-thru as a runner, and was a baker,” she recalled. “My parents had me work the 5:30 to 8 a.m. shift before school, when people came in for that morning coffee.”

A favourite donut from her Timmies days? She said it’s always the Boston Cream as her first choice.

HOCKEY BALANCE

So, having a part-time job can occur, but players need to know how to balance life away from the arena and in the classroom.

“You have to value the academic side of your life, not just playing hockey,” she said. “I plan on doing what’s best for each individual athlete playing for this team to reach their potential.

“Where will they be one, two or three years from now? You still have to take your school seriously because hockey can complete your academic goals. Hockey can help that if you realize you’re a student first, and an athlete second.”

All of this life advice, transferred from playing hockey, has helped Kirkup with her current lot in life, as she’s enjoying working in the classroom with young minds, but also taking what she’s learned from playing for the Wildcats, Black Bears and Bisons and giving back to another generation of players as a hockey coach.

She’s also an assistant coach with Team Manitoba’s girls’ U18 team, so will know a lot of the players she’s likely to face when the Wheat Kings open the season sometime in late September once the MFHL finalize the 2024-25 regular season schedule.

So, with the advent of fall and another school year, the girls wearing the Wheat Kings jersey will have had plenty of time to bond and learn Kirkup’s offensive and defensive systems, and she will have had a chance to choose her leadership group and figure out line combinations.

“I’m excited. This is going to be a lot of fun starting this team,” she said.

Next week’s four tryout sessions are just a start in the process to build a team in time to start the inaugural season. The coach will be looking for parents to get involved off-ice, from looking after transportation needs during the season, to handling the team’s social media platforms which each of the teams use vigorously to promote games, the players’ exploits and those committed to playing hockey at post-secondary institutes in the fall of 2025.

SOCIAL MEDIA

“I don’t do social media, I will leave that up to a parent,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ll be worrying about what I’m going to do in the next practice, and preparing for games.”

Why leave a team where she just upset the powerhouse first-place Eastman Selects 3-1 in the U15 AAA MFHL playoff finals earlier this spring, and move to an unknown team one age group up?

Kirkup said there were a few things which piqued her interest and saw her provide Hockey Brandon with her coaching resume when she saw the job posting. She’s already been involved with establishing a new team, so it was an easy decision to throw her hat into the ring and see what happened.

“It was not a hard decision for me to make,” she offered. “I’ve always been involved in competitive hockey, and this is just another step up.

“I had a blast working with my girls the past three seasons at the U15 level, so for me, it was time to move up with those girls who will be trying out for the U18 team.

“I’m very excited for another inaugural season for me. I want to see how much the girls have improved with their training for another season, at another level. Potentially, there are eight girls from my U15 team who will have interest in trying out for the U18 team.”

U15 AAA SUCCESSES

Looking back on the successes her U15 teams have had since entering the U15 AAA MFHL, Kirkup said she’s proud of each of the girls under her tutelage for the past three winters, and winning league bragging rights when it mattered in the playoffs. It demonstrated their on-ice improvement from the regular season to the post-season when it mattered.

“It’s great to identify with the girls in how much they’ve improved. So with this job opportunity for a new team, I wanted to be part of it and jumped at the chance.”

While building a team from scratch might feel daunting initially, Kirkup is confident in her abilities and the coaching style she adopts working the bench during games.

“I will push the girls to be their best and will do everything I can as coach to make it happen,” she said. “As a player I learned a lot of life lessons, and will share those with the girls I’m coaching this season.”

While the puck won’t drop on the Wheat Kings’ inaugural season at J&G Homes Arena until September, this gives Kirkup plenty of time to prepare the players who make her roster after tryouts with pre-season workouts they can use to prepare for the rigours of playing in the U18 AAA MFHL.

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