2024 La Relève Coaching and Support Staff Announced

Gatineau, QC–Ringette Canada is pleased to announce the participants in the coaching development opportunity that is the annual La Relève program. The 2024 U17 La Relève is set to take place in Gatineau, QC from August 5-10, 2024.

 

Team Black

Jésika Savoie, Head Coach (Dieppe, NB)

Jésika Savoie will serve as the Head Coach for Team Black, after being an assistant coach in 2022 and 2023. Hailing from New Brunswick, she has been coaching for nine years and accumulated a number of accolades in that time, including: medalling at three consecutive Canadian Ringette Championships, coaching the first U19 Team NB to receive a medal at CRC, coaching at the 2023 Canada Winter Games, and a finalist for Greater Moncton’s Top 20 under 40 in 2024 for making a difference in the community.

As an athlete, Savoie participated in 5 CRCs, as well as the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, AB, throughout her 19 year playing career. A two-time medalist at the Eastern Canadian Ringette Championships, she also won provincial and Atlantic championships. Savoie embraced the multi-sport athlete lifestyle, as she also played competitive soccer, volleyball, karate, and handball.

 

Allison Madeley, Assistant Coach (Ajax, ON)

Allison Madeley will serve as an assistant coach for Team Black, her fourth time coaching at La Relève. Madeley began coaching with the City of Ottawa Ringette Association (CORA) and has coached Ringette Ontario’s AAA program for the past three years. 

A third-generation coach, Madeley comes from a family of dedicated ringette volunteers. Her grandmother was one of the first ringette coaches, and a key developer of the sport in Sudbury. Her mother grew up playing ringette with her sisters, Madeley’s aunts, and would eventually coach her daughter who began to play ringette at age three. The family connection extends to officiating, as she has an uncle who is one of ringette’s longest serving officials. 

 

Lindsay Frechette, Assistant Coach (Pakenham, ON)

Lindsay Frechette will serve as an assistant coach for Team Black, her first La Relève coaching stint. She has coached competitively for six years with the West Ottawa Ringette Association, across many levels and ages. Frechette attended the 2023 and 2024 Canadian Ringette Championships with the U16AA WORA team, and in 2024 coached her U19A team to the gold medal at the Eastern Canadian Ringette Championships.

As an athlete, Frechette began her ringette career at age four in the Bunnies program in Arnprior, ON. She played with the Arnprior-McNab Ringette Association, and was a member of the first provincial ringette team in Arnprior. In later years, she would play with the West Ottawa Ringette Association and the City of Ottawa Ringette Association. She won a provincial championship as a U19 with CORA, representing Team Ontario at the Eastern Canadian Ringette Championships, coming home with a silver medal. Now, she is a member of Ringette Ontario’s Athlete Advisory Committee, working with other athletes to discuss policy and strategic initiatives for Ontario athletes.

 

Team White

Brooke Enns, Head Coach (New Hamburg, ON & La Salle, MB)

Brooke Enns will serve as the Head Coach for Team White. She has been coaching for 12 years at the U14B, A, AA, U16AA, and U19AA levels. She has coached U19AA Eastman Flames teams to the gold medal at the 2018 Manitoba Winter Games, and a bronze medal at the 2018 Canadian Ringette Championships. Enns has a Master of Education in Coaching Studies, completing her research on optimal practice design and conditions for coaching skating skills. 

As an athlete, she has played ringette for 23 years, including at the AA level for the Eastman Flames, where she attended CRCs twice. Enns still plays at the Open AA level. 

 

Karli O’Brien, Assistant Coach (Carleton Place, ON)

Karli O’Brien will serve as an assistant coach for Team White. She has coached ringette for five years in Ontario, with one year as a U16AA coach and four in AAA. She has coached teams to multiple bronze medals and a gold at the Ontario Winter Games.

As an athlete, O’Brien has been playing ringette for 22 years. She grew up playing with the Nepean Ringette Association, winning provincial championships and a national championship. She also won two gold medals at the Ontario Winter Games. O’Brien also has elite athlete experience, as a member of the Junior National Team Canada at the 2013 World Ringette Championship, and several years with the Gatineau Fusion in the National Ringette League.

 

Team Green

Jody Nouwen, Head Coach (Chestermere, AB)

Jody Nouwen will serve as a head coach for Team Green, returning to La Relève for a second year . She has extensive coaching experience, and owns and operates the National Ringette School in Alberta. Nouwen’s coaching credentials include this year’s national bronze medal winning U16AA Zone 2 Blaze, and she has previously coached the U14AA team. She has coached a number of levels with the Indus Ringette Association and Calgary AA Ringette Association, as well as coaching at the RAB Cup and this season serving as the Lead On-Ice Instructor. 

As an athlete, Nouwen has just completed her 40th season of ringette. Her current goal is to play on a team with her daughter. She captained Team USA to gold and bronze medals at the World Ringette Championships, is a six-time gold medalist at the Canadian Ringette Championship, was a first line Defensive All-Star, and a gold medalist at the Western Canada Championships where she was also a first-line All-Star at Centre. Nouwen also plays several other sports, including slo-pitch, field hockey, and cycling. 

 

Michele Drescher, Assistant Coach (Kelowna, BC)

Michele Drescher will serve as an assistant coach for Team Green. She has been coaching for 10 years at all levels, adding new tools to her coaching repertoire along the way. Drescher has coached Team BC at both the U16 and U19 levels, managing athletes who come from all parts of the province. 

As an athlete, Drescher credits the lively ringette atmosphere in Edmonton where she grew up as the reason she chose to play the sport. She was committed to a multi-sport lifestyle, also playing basketball and volleyball. Drescher now echoes the benefits of being a multi-sport athlete to those she coaches today. 

 

Meghan Pearse, Assistant Coach (Waterloo, ON)

Meghan Pearse will serve as an assistant coach with Team Green. She has been head coaching for 10 years, with many age groups including U14AA, U16AA, U19AA, and 18+A. She has assistant coached a team to the Eastern Canadian Championships, as well as to a gold medal at the Ontario Winter Games.

As an athlete, Pearse played ringette for almost 30 years, namely at the AA level in Waterloo, Elora/Fergus, and Cambridge. She also played for the Western Region AAA team, competing at the Ontario Winter Games in Barrie, winning silver. Pearse has also had elite athlete experience, competing in the NRL before finishing her career playing for 18+A.  

 

Team Purple

Danielle Hildebrand, Head Coach (Cooks Creek, MB)

Danielle Hildebrand will serve as the Head Coach for Team Purple. She has extensive coaching experience, with over 25 years coaching AA ringette. She was the head coach for Team MB at the 2007 Canada Winter Games, and assistant coach for the gold medal winning Junior National Team Canada in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Hildebrand also coached a gold-medal winning team at the 1997 CRCs. 

As an athlete, Hildebrand has played ringette for over 40 years. She competed in 13 CRCs, and was a member of Team Canada from 2000-07, including a gold medal win at the World Ringette Championship in 2002 and an All-Star Forward. Hildebrand was inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame as an athlete in 2017.

 

Elizabeth Plamondon, Assistant Coach (Ottawa, ON)

Elizabeth Plamondon will serve as an assistant coach for Team Purple. She has been coaching for eight years, the last four as an assistant coach with the City of Ottawa Ringette Association’s U19AA team. Plamondon has coached in the Ringette Ontario AAA program for the past three seasons, placing second at the Ontario Winter Games in 2023.

As an athlete, Plamondon played for CORA from FUN to U19, with one season of AAA, and a trip to the CRCs in 2019. She played for the Ottawa NRL team in 2019-2020, and currently plays for the University of Ottawa GeeGees ringette team. A multi-sport athlete, Plamondon has played for Team Ontario women’s baseball since she was 14, representing Ontario at seven National Championships, winning four gold and two silver medals. 

 

Alyssa Mainwood, Assistant Coach (Ottawa, ON)

Alyssa Mainwood will serve as an assistant coach for Team Purple. She has almost 15 years of coaching experience at the AA level from U14 to U19 age levels. Mainwood has also been coaching at the AAA level in Ontario for four years. This year she will coach the Nepean Ravens NRL team and U19AA, as well as U16AA Team Ontario.

As an athlete, Mainwood grew up playing for the Gloucester Cumberland Ringette Association’s AA program, as well as two seasons for the GCRA NRL team as an affiliate member before moving to the Gatineau Fusion NRL team. A multi-sport athlete, Mainwood also competes on Team Canada for Ultimate Frisbee.

 

Additional Coaching Staff

 

Claudia Jetté, Goalie Coach (Montréal, QC)

Claudia Jetté joins the 2024 program as Goalie Coach, with extensive experience. Jetté coached two U21 national teams to gold, in 2015 and 2017, as well as two Canada Games golds in 2019 and 2023. She is a member of the coaching staff of the 2025 Senior National Team Canada program, and has been an assistant coach of the Montreal Mission NRL for three years, as well as a goalie coach for Ringuette Performance and Goalies on a Mission.

As an athlete, Jetté played in the Finnish Ringette League in 2006 for Helsinki, and was a reserve member of the 2007 Team Canada. She has been playing ringette for 28 years, including several CRC appearances with the NRL’s Montreal Mission. A multi-sport athlete, Jetté played collegiate field hockey for John Abbott CEGEP and participated in the 2011 Police and Fire Games in New York.

 

Isabelle McConaghy, Athletic Therapist (Timmins, ON)

Isabelle McConaghy joins the program as Athletic Therapist. She has worked with the National Ringette League during Hubs, and was a member of the 2024 Athletic Therapy team for the 2024 CRCs, as well as the East Selection Camp for the U18 National Development team. McConaghy holds a Bachelor in Sport and Physical Education, as well as a Bachelor’s degree specializing in Athletic Therapy.

As an athlete, she began playing ringette in Timmins, and continued in Sudbury, ON where she competed in the 18+A division for five years. During this time, McConaghy earned two silver and one bronze medal at the Ringette Ontario Provincial “A” Championships. 

 

Joan Hammond, Manager (Calgary, ON)

Joan Hammond returns to the program as Manager, supporting the athletes and coaches throughout the 2024 La Relève. She has previously managed at the 2017 La Relève, the U18 Canada Development Team in 2023 in Calgary, the U18 team in London in 2013, and the Senior National Team in 2014 at the World Ringette Championships held in North Bay, ON. An adult ringette player, Hammond has previously coached at all levels including AA, and is the Director of the Cora Classic Ringette tournament in Calgary.

A retired elementary school teacher, Hammond is the proud grandmother of four, and has three adult daughters who also play ringette. As an athlete she ran track, competing in the 100 m, 200 m, and Relay.