Landry Derdall at college graduation and in action with the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens hockey program. (Submitted photos/Landry Derdall)

By Martin Martinson

New Assistant Coach

Derdall brings focus on development, mental health to AAA Sharks

Jun 16, 2023 | 3:00 PM

The Battlefords AAA Sharks have announced a new assistant coach hire, ahead of the 2023-24 hockey season.

A familiar face to the Sharks’ organization, alumni Landry Derdall joins the coaching staff led by head coach Nolan Horbach, in a move the bench boss called a great addition to the team.

“I’m extremely happy to have Landry join us,” Horbach said. “She obviously has a deep connection with the organization having played with the Sharks, and then her time with the Red Deer College Queens, she understands the game and its dynamics.

“You take into consideration her [post-secondary] education and she’s dedicated to helping individuals reach their physical and mental health goals.”

Derdall, who is from Outlook, SK., just under 2.5 hours south of the Battlefords, spent two seasons donning the Sharks’ teal from the fall of 2014 to spring of 2016, serving as team captain in her final year with the club.

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From there, she went on to join the collegiate hockey ranks, with the powerhouse Red Deer College Queens hockey program, where she played another two seasons on the blue line from 2016-18, making the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) semi-finals and finals in consecutive years.

The transition to coaching comes authentically for Derdall, as something she hadn’t much considered back in her playing days, but came around to through her experience in the classroom, while completing her Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology.

“I never really considered coaching when I was playing, I never really thought about it, but now going to school and doing my Psych and Kinesiology I’m realizing some of the gaps I had and what [mentorship] I wish I would have had,” she said. “Now I just want to be able to offer that to the upcoming players.”

Derdall said her coaching philosophy is all about helping guide and support the players in their development both on and off the ice.

“If they need guidance for sport performance or anything mental health related, that was one of the things I noticed was lacking when I was playing,” she said. “The importance of mental health and how it affects physical health and [on-ice] performance is something I really want to focus on for the girls and help them be set up for success in life even outside of hockey.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1