Corinne Schroeder Leads by Example, Running Torrent Goaltender Drills With Position Coach Away
By Charles Hamaker
Northgate, WA - The hockey season, with its length and unforeseen circumstances, can create many unique and somewhat amusing stories throughout the year. For the Seattle Torrent, there have been many such instances just a few months into their inaugural season, from waiting for their team headquarters to be finished to a somewhat brief training camp to get to know each other swiftly, to the challenges a hockey season brings.
We’re in full swing of the PWHL season, and a few breaks have already thrown a wrench into the Torrent's plans to get the full group together for an extended period to grow team chemistry. One of the obstacles to team bonding and consistent practice sessions is that goaltending coach Sheldon Goertzen has to take a brief leave to coach the Canada U18 netminders at the U18 women’s World Junior Championships.
It’s an exciting opportunity for Goertzen to help the next wave of goaltenders for Canada on the international stage, and his second year doing so. But it leaves a temporary hole in the Torrent coaching staff as Seattle’s inaugural season rolls on, prompting a veteran goaltender to step up.
Corinne Schroeder, in her fourth season playing professional hockey, has been seen leading the drills that the Torrent netminder trio participates in. We caught up with “Schroeds” to hear firsthand how this coaching experience came to be.
Schroeder kept things the same for warm-up drills, providing some consistency for herself and teammates Carly Jackson and Hannah Murphy, before making sure to work on specifics based on the Torrent’s next opponent. Corinne wanted to ensure that the netminder group was ready for what that specific team would throw at them in their next game, based on previous game film.
“We did our typical warm-up drills that we always do with Sheldon, and then, based on who our next opponent was, I just made sure that we were focusing on some little pieces that they like to add into their offense, whether it’s below the goal line, passes to the front, or low to high with D shots or things like that. Just trying to prepare for what opponent we were about to face, and that was more just my interpretation of what to expect and what we needed to see.”
Seattle Torrent goaltender Corinne Schroeder during practice sessions with the team at the Kraken Community Iceplex. (Photos by Nick Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports)
What’s made it easy for Schroeder to lead the drills and for all the goaltenders to get their work in without any real interruption is how well the trio works together. While all three of the Torrent netminders may bring different personalities to the table, Schroeder being a quieter type, Jackson a bit more lively, and Murphy somewhere in the middle, there’s a strong middle they all find when they’re working with each other.
“I feel like our goalie trio has a really good collaborative relationship. Sheldon knew, obviously, ahead of time, that he was going to be out of town, and he left us with a few drills and stuff that we would do for our goalie warm-ups at the start of every practice. We were in charge of getting shooters and stuff. But then there were also times when we’d have some free time, being able to brainstorm together, like different drills, depending on our opponent coming up or what we wanted to work on, was really good, and it made it go by as well as the time could have, so it was pretty seamless without Sheldon actually being there.”
It’s created a great environment for the young goaltender Hannah Murphy to grow in her rookie campaign, while Schroeder and Carly Jackson can continue to refine their skills with a teammate who will help push them to be their best. Schroeder shares that, aside from game specifics and things she might notice, she tries not to give Murphy too much information and instead lets “Murph” come to her if there’s something particular she wants advice on.
For Schroeder, this time to lead her teammates in position-specific drills comes at a time when she’s seen some solid steps forward in her own game. Some tough matchups early on saw her personal statistics balloon, though not entirely her fault, as Schroeder had to face waves of attacking pressure from opponents, as the Torrent defense continues to add structural elements to their game in addition to openly admitting they let their defenders play a bit more aggressively offensively.
Leading into February, Schroeder has posted strong games against the Toronto Sceptres and Boston Fleet (twice), two teams with plenty of firepower. Corinne has been stacking days, spending extra time after Torrent practice sessions to get extra shots against and sharpen anything she didn’t like from that practice or previous game. While it’s been harder for her to get into a specific rhythm, with Seattle rotating her and Hannah Murphy, Schroeder has been adjusting as best she can.
“I feel like I’ve been building for a while. It’s obviously been slow going. We’ve been alternating games here and there, so it is harder to get into a rhythm, and that’s something I’m trying to adjust to. Just using this break to really dive into habits and securing those so that we’re ready for the last approach in the season, and making sure everything’s clean.”
Schroeder may have the feel and acumen of a veteran, but she’s still got plenty of prime years ahead of her at just 26 years old. While any sort of coaching days for the netminder out of Elm Creek, Manitoba, are farther down the line, Schroeder shares that she’s open to a coaching career once she’s done as a player.
“I would consider it. I have done some coaching in the past, and I enjoy it. It would take some time to get into again, but definitely something I would look at doing. I feel like, analytically, I have the mind for it, and I think that I could be good at it.”
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Check out our previous Seattle Torrent articles here.
Check out our previous articles written by Charles Hamaker here.
Check out our previous articles with photos by Nick Lyons here.
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