Hockey Saskatchewan announced their coach of the year Tuesday, and the recipient was Weyburn’s Monica Peterson. She is the first person from Weyburn to receive the award since Chad Kish was honoured in 2014-15. 

“It’s an unexpected honour, and a humbling one to say the least,” Peterson said of the award.  

Peterson works with Hockey Weyburn’s U5, U7 and U9 divisions, and is the director of those age groups. She has also coached two teams this past season – one U7 squad and another U9 squad. She attributes part of the fun she has in working in hockey as being directly a result of those age groups.  

“The kids at this age love coming to the rink, they have so much fun on the ice – their laughs, their giggles, their smiles,” Peterson told Discover Weyburn. “It’s just fun, and it’s also really rewarding to see how much they can improve over the course of a season.” 

Peterson started playing hockey when she was four years old and grew up in the rinks playing in Regina. She went on to play at the collegiate level with the Princeton Tigers, then came back to Saskatchewan. She began coaching at the U18 level in Regina, and after she had kids of her own, she started coaching them here in Weyburn.  

She made sure to thank those who nominated her for the award, but they weren’t the only ones she wanted to thank.  

“A thank you to the parents for bringing their kids to the rink every day,” Peterson acknowledged. “I couldn’t do it without their support, and of course that of my husband and my kids as well.” 

“The recognition is really nice, but all I really need is the smile on the kids’ faces as they leave the rink, and the willingness to come back year after year.”