As part of our ongoing work to get more women and girls into all parts of the game, our CEO Amy Walsh and comms lead Denise Withers sat down with Troy Ryan, Head Coach of the PWHL Toronto Sceptres and Canada’s National Women’s Team to chat about coaching philosophies, gender equity and what it means to be a male ally.
AMY: Troy, we rarely get a chance to go behind the bench to explore how coaches get their start, which can make it tough for women to picture themselves as a coach. What’s your story?
TROY: I’d never thought about coaching until I ran into a guy I used to play against who asked me to help out. I had no clue at the time where it would lead. But my first real experience turned out to be coaching a women's club team at the university level in Fredericton. After college, I began coaching men's junior hockey and men at every level.
That led to a last-minute opportunity with Hockey Nova Scotia to take over as the women’s team head coach at the Canada Games that I jumped at. I had a great experience with that group of women and I was in hook, line, and sinker. Eventually that led to becoming the head coach at Hockey Canada, winning gold with the National Women’s Team, and my current position with the Toronto Sceptres.
In hindsight, it feels like it all happened by chance. But in hockey and coaching, you’ve got to be ready for opportunities when they come. I’m grateful for the experience and hope I've made the most of it.
DENISE: Well, you definitely have a lot of fans across Canada these days! As you mentioned, you’ve had the relatively unique experience of coaching elite male and female players. What are the biggest differences you see coaching women's hockey?
TROY: Some people suggest that emotions play a big role in the differences. While there could be some truth to that, I've coached some incredibly tough women and some very emotional men. So, I avoid categorizing based on gender and just focus on getting to know the individual and coaching them accordingly. Because honestly, whether you're coaching men or women, if you're coaching the masses, you're missing the mark.
That said, if I had to generalize, I'd say women often need to understand the "why" behind things more than men. You can tell a men's team to do something, and they'll likely just do it. Women, however, tend to want more context—they want to know the purpose and reasoning behind it to perform at their best.
DENISE: That really speaks to one of the big challenges we face, which is to help people see that hockey is hockey. Of course, we’ve seen such a massive growth in interest in women’s hockey and really all women’s sports over the last year or two. What’s it like being on the front line of such a tremendous culture shift?
TROY: You know, I recently watched a TEDx Talk by Mary-Kay Messier. Her opening line was about how equity in sports can help bridge the gap to equity in society, and that really resonated with me. It made me think back on my journey and how hockey has been a vehicle for something greater in my life and for many others. Whether it was helping me become a better person, a better teammate, or pushing me to do better academically so I could keep playing, I don’t think enough people see the bigger picture in sports.
Messier's point about equity in sports also connects to what's happening in society, and I think the PWHL has opened some eyes to that. People often ask me about being a middle-aged man coaching a women’s sport—I’ve always felt like a guest in that space. They also ask how powerful it must be for young girls to watch these incredible women play professionally, and I agree, of course.
But what I find even more powerful is seeing young boys in the audience, looking up to these women as role models. That shows us that hockey is hockey, no matter who's playing. It normalizes women as strong, talented leaders. People may not understand the term 'equity,' but when they see it through sport, it changes their perspective for life.
AMY: Amazing. You’re so right – I even see that happening with my own three boys. So when you think about that, what kind of role do you think you and other male coaches can play in shifting the way we think about gender equity in hockey?
TROY: Well, for starters, anyone who doesn’t believe in being an ally to women in the game shouldn't be involved in women’s sports. When I first started coaching years ago, I was just happy to have the job and advance my career. Initially, I approached it more selfishly. But over time, as I’ve worked with these athletes and coaches, I realized I have something bigger to contribute.
I’ve always believed that my job isn’t just to develop the people around me—it’s also for them to help develop me. And through that, I’ve learned that there’s a long-term impact to what I do – that the best thing I can do is coach to the best of my ability, so my athletes see what a positive coach-athlete relationship can look like. This, in turn, can help them become better leaders or coaches if they choose that path.
AMY: Over the years, you’ve also been recognized as a bit of a game-changer within the coaching world, often challenging the way we do things to make them better. Can you tell us a bit about that?
TROY: It’s true, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is overcoming traditional ways of doing things. Hockey has long-established norms, and you need to find ways to encourage people to think outside the box and be open to change.
To be honest, some of the things I’ve done at Hockey Canada would likely have been seen as controversial because they went against the usual way things are done. For example, I gave the team captains control of the game day skate, so they could play more of a leadership role. But having had some success has given me more freedom to keep pushing for change.
Really, it just takes some people with the courage to stand up for the things they believe are important, even if it might cost them their job. If you think something will help your team or group succeed, you have to be willing to stand behind it. I’ve taken some chances that may have seemed controversial to some, but once people saw the benefits and success, more of them got on board.
I’m confident now that if I were to step away from my role with the National Women’s team, the group would continue to embrace the mindset of standing up for their beliefs, being different, and finding success without always following the traditional path.
DENISE: That’s an incredible legacy for the team and the organization. It sounds like being open to change and learning is just as important for coaches and for players. Why is that?
TROY: Honestly, if you're coaching or if you're approaching the game the same way you were coached, you're probably 20 years behind. And we should be thinking 10, 20 years ahead. And if you think of that gap that's created with that “old school” mentality, it's just poison.
AMY: Troy, you and I have had many conversations about this, but I’d love it if you could tell our readers a bit about what you see as the main barriers to growth for women and girls in hockey in Canada, given your experience across the hockey ecosystem.
TROY: Well, the first is one that I know you're trying to tackle – the issue with ice allocation. It’s obviously huge. I had no idea that it’s actually written in stone in a lot of communities that minor hockey associations (for boys) automatically get priority ice booking – policies that were developed before a lot of women’s associations began and that now prevent women and girls from getting on the ice. So that's scary.
A second thing is changing our conversations and the questions we ask kids. I know a couple with a young boy and girl, and all the adult women in the family play sports. So they make it a point to ask the girl the same questions about sports that they'd ask the boy. That kind of communication and equal treatment is so important. I don't think people have bad intentions, but society often doesn't associate young girls with sports, and that needs to change.
And then third, when I look at barriers in coaching specifically, I do think the biggest thing is the start. How do you get them curious? How do you give them a relatively stress-free start? Because sometimes, the way mentorship is done can be really stressful for female coaches. I've always honestly been uncomfortable with the word mentor just because I know it can be a bit negative – it still becomes a bit of a power dynamic. Plus a lot of guys getting into coaching think they’re overqualified and a lot of women think they’re underqualified. So it’s important to try to reduce any stress or negativity.
I also think we need to shift our approach from mentorship to sponsorship. So instead of just showing someone what you would do, you give them control and support them to figure it out for themselves.
The three biggest barriers for women and girls in hockey: access to ice time, communication, coaching.
AMY: Building on that, and you talked about this a bit earlier, what can male coaches do to be a good ally for new female coaches?
TROY: One of the best things men can do is identify women with leadership skills or a passion for sport and encourage them to take that first step because it’s often the hardest.
For example, when Mel Davidson asked me if I knew anyone who’d be good for the Women’s National team camp, I reached out to Kori Cheverie, who’s from Nova Scotia. Five or six years later, she’s been with me through all of my championships with Hockey Canada. She’s now an experienced assistant coach ready to take over there anytime and the Head Coach of the PWHL Montréal Victoire. So it's crucial to provide those opportunities without expecting people to be experts from the start. You have to support them, let them learn, let them make mistakes, and create an environment where they feel comfortable coming to you for advice instead of you always offering it.
DENISE: Those are all such great insights and things anyone can do - thank you! Final question – the puck’s about to drop on Season 2 of the PWHL. What are you excited about this year?
TROY: To be honest, the thing that I enjoy most about it is just being part of this whole new world of hockey. I've been part of some pretty exciting games, and even an Olympic gold medal game hasn't emotionally connected with me as much as some of those PWHL games. Just knowing the work that they've done to get to this point, to see the emotion that they have and how proud they are that the buildings are full, it definitely gets you. I mean, I've seen little media scrums where 50 boys are sitting waiting for autographs and pictures. That's something I’d never seen before in my entire life. And now I'm seeing on a daily basis.
So I think it comes back to what I said earlier, about hockey just being a vehicle for change. We're using hockey to help develop better leaders and better people in society. I think if we focus on this approach – that we're not just developing better individuals – we’re actually working towards creating a better society, that’s how we’ll get everyone else to be just as excited about where the game’s going as you and me.