Fresh off a championship season in her final year with the collegiate Lakeland Rustlers, Julianna Giacobbo is ready to step into the next chapter of her hockey and career paths.
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Giacobbo is the new head coach of the U18 AA Lloydminster Steelers, provincial champions this past season in the Alberta Female Hockey League.
Giacobbo and U18 AAA Steelers coach Dan Auchenberg each scouted prospects during a mutual spring identification camp early in May at the Hub’s Co-op Community Arena.
“It’s nice to be able to plan and meet some of the girls, and put a face to their names, and they can put a face to my name, because lots of them didn’t know who I was,” said Giacobbo, a nursing student who turns 23 this summer.
Before winning back-to-back Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championships with the Rustlers, she played Canadian university hockey with the Regina Cougars and NCAA Division 3 at Morrisville State College in New York.
Coaching runs deep in Giacobbo’s family. Her father Geoff is the head coach of the U18 AAA St. Albert Raiders of the Alberta Elite Hockey League.
Not surprisingly, Lakeland head coach Morgan Mann thought of Giacobbo when Lloydminster minor hockey was searching for new coaches for next season.
“Morgan had mentioned it to me, I want to say back in December,” she said. “He called me into his office and was, like, ‘Gio, they need some female coaches on the elite side. Would you want to do it?’
“And I said, ‘Yeah, it’s definitely something that I would consider.’ I want to stay in the game and give back.”
Although her college playing eligibility has expired, Giacobbo remains a student as she completes her bachelor’s degree through the University of Saskatchewan.
As busy as she’ll be with school, the St. Albert native welcomes the opportunity to play another role in hockey as a coach.
“I’ll be pretty busy,” said Giacobbo, now a Lloyd resident. “And I have my school placements, too, so I’ll be quite busy.
“I like to be busy. I think I operate better when I’m busy.”
For the Steelers’ spring camp, she was back in the same rink where, just two months ago, the Rustlers completed their comeback in the ACAC final to defeat the Red Deer Queens in double overtime and repeat as league champions.
It was a glorious swan song for Lakeland’s departing players.
Giacobbo believes she’s filling a vital position as a female coach of female players.
“I think it’s really important,” she said. “Growing up, I didn’t have too many female coaches. My coaches were great, but I think it would be nice to have someone who has knowledge and has been through the game — but also is a female role model — because those girls are going through that crucial time in their life, and they need someone to look up to who is a good role model.”
In hockey and life, Giacobbo and her two brothers have had a built-in role model in their father, who coached them at various levels.
‘SWEATING, SMILING’
“He’s a great coach,” she said. “I admire him very much. Growing up, he was coaching me and my brothers, and he was coaching at the AAA level, too. So, I saw his coaching lots. But more with myself, he preached hard work, and he preached compete.
“Sweating and smiling was always his favourite motto.”
Now, another Giacobbo is developing her own coaching strategy, applicable on and off the ice.
“I think hard work is huge,” she said. “Earning what you get is huge.
“Setting the players up for life outside the rink is huge. Like, learning to communicate, learning all those tools that they can get in their toolbox for whatever it is — school, relationships, job interviews — because I think what you learn in hockey, you bring into life.
“That’s huge. It’s not just about the wins on the ice.”
With a smile, Giacobbo added: “But, hopefully, win a couple of games, too.”
The Steelers took steps toward that winning direction with a spring camp that featured three full teams, including six goaltenders overall.
“It gives me a chance to see the girls, and also Dan (Auchenberg) a chance to see the girls,” said the organization’s new coach. “But it is both AA and AAA level players out there.
“For my team, eight girls graduated, and I think a few of (the others) will crack the AAA roster. So, it’s kind of half and half (departing and returning players).”
As head coach, Giacobbo succeeds Scott Dopko, who guided the U18 AA Steelers to their Alberta championship in dramatic fashion, winning the gold-medal game 1-0 in overtime at Airdrie.
TEAM ALBERTA CANDIDATES: Two hometown players from the latest edition of the U18 AAA Steelers, blue-liner Alivia Foster and goaltender Kenzie Zidar, have been invited to Hockey Alberta’s female summer camp. The list of 46 finalists (six in net, 16 on defence and 24 at forward) also includes four former Steelers — Harlee Houle in goal, Harlee Bensmiller and Taryn Leighton on defence and Raevyn Neahr up front.
The summer camp is the next step in the creation of Team Alberta’s roster for the 2027 Canada Winter Games in Quebec City.
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