Why Claire Butorac and Mae Batherson use coaching to give back

Thank goodness it’s another Hockey Friday! I’m Reid Lemker from The Ice Garden, and this week we are headed on a journey north, to the frigid home of the back-to-back Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost.

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Over the international break, I caught up with Claire Butorac and Mae Batherson to chat about something bigger than the Frost’s on-ice success, a topic near and dear to my heart as a youth hockey coach: inspiring the next generation.

Hear from Butorac and Batherson as they explain why they enjoy helping out at youth hockey camps, why it’s important to them to be involved, and what they hope to teach young hockey players.

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Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

First off, in your own words, why is it important to you to be involved with youth hockey camps?

Claire Butorac: I think it’s really important as a women’s sport to build the game. The more girls who see women in this space, the more they believe that they can do it too. I think just having a voice in the community, using our time wisely, getting out there, and showing the little girls that this is something that they can do now. I think it’s a fun way we can do that, and I really enjoy it.

Mae Batherson: Well, just now with this league [the PWHL], the kids have someone to look up to and something to dream towards. To see us as people rather than just players, I think it’s great for them to see what they can be one day.

Which coaches from your career do you try to emulate when you’re on the ice with the younger girls?

Butorac: I’ve had so many great coaches and have had the opportunity to be coached by so many good people. One person, I would say, was my high school coach; she’s been at the high school I went to since I was in eighth grade, and she’s still there. It’s just been cool to see a female coach in that space, and I was lucky enough to be coached by a female. She likes to bring a lot of fun and energy, and I like to do that too.

Batherson: I would say my novice coach. He just made every day fun. We were young, and obviously, we were competitive even at that age, had some great players and wanted to win games. But he was a school teacher as well, so he knew how to talk to kids, and he just made it so fun. I basically fell in love with hockey that year.

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What do you find most fun about being involved in youth hockey camps and other coaching opportunities?

Butorac: Honestly, I just love talking to the kids. You hear so many silly stories, and you never really know what you’re going to hear from them, and I think it’s cool to see their perspective on what it is and what we mean to them. It’s really cool to get to know them, and then when they come to the games, and you can see the faces in the crowd, it just creates that little bridge between player and fan.

Batherson: Just the smiles on their faces. Also, at the start of a drill, if they’re struggling, and then they eventually get it at the end. It’s cool to see improvement even just within a couple of minutes, and if I can help them just like that in one day, I hope that that can continue for them. But also just how excited the girls are to be out there on the ice. Even asking them things that are not hockey related, I like getting to know them as people and kids and what they love and how fun they find hockey. It’s great to see them having fun, and to see so many girls who play hockey now, it’s awesome.

What do you hope the girls take away from a Frost youth camp that you are a part of?

Butorac: I would say the most important thing is to have fun. They’re so young, and hockey should be fun when they’re that age. I think a lot of people, especially these days, it’s like, you’ve got to be on this team, you’ve got to be this and this. And I think we’re just like, go have fun, and that’s what we try to bring to the camps. It’s okay if you mess up. It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re doing. We’re just here to have fun and play hockey.

Batherson: I hope they make friends if they don’t know all the people on the ice, and then try to learn something or just have a laugh and have fun out there.

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