Shannon Coulter
Coaching was always a natural fit for Karissa Kirkup.
The Brandon, Manitoba, native was interested in becoming a teacher when she was younger, so she decided to get involved in coaching to gain experience working with kids.
“I think I’ve always enjoyed the connection with people. Through my experiences as a player, I’ve always really enjoyed and learned so many life lessons through the game of hockey,” says the 29-year-old Kirkup, who was named the national recipient of the BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award in the Competitive category. “I always loved giving back to the game that gave me so much.”
Now a Grade 6 teacher and working on a master’s degree in education, Kirkup defines herself as a lifelong learner. She loves learning new teaching strategies that can benefit her in the classroom and on the ice.
“The world is constantly evolving and we’re learning a lot about the next generation coming up,” she says. “I think it’s super important to keep pushing myself and not staying stagnant in both of my coaching and teaching roles.”
Balancing teaching and coaching can be challenging. It requires a lot of preparation and organization for Kirkup to be set up for success.
“I will admit, it is a juggling act right from the start of September,” she says. “It does have to be a full team effort throughout a long hockey season. It’s a lot of months and a lot of time being put into both teaching and coaching.”
Kirkup grew up playing minor hockey in Portage la Prairie before her family moved to Virden for high school. She joined the Westman Wildcats to play U18 AAA in the Manitoba Female Hockey League (MFHL).
“That experience was a major driving force in why I’m coaching again today,” she explains. “I always look back with fond memories of [playing for the Wildcats]. I enjoyed my time there.”
Kirkup believes in chasing adversity. She believes by trusting those around you and leaning on people for support, you will come out of adversity as a stronger and better person.
As Kirkup was looking to get into coaching, she noticed that there was no U15 AAA or U18 AAA teams in Brandon. After discussing the idea with others, she took a leap of faith to start working with community members to build a program.
“Being a small part of building a program from the ground out was a tremendous experience. I got to grow and learn with people around me that also cared a lot about the game,” she says. “I knew with the dedicated people around me, we could make it happen.”
Quickly, Kirkup began to find success on and off the ice with her team. In the first season as head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, her U15 AAA team became rural provincial champions in the 2021-22 season.
“Those are some of the memories that I’ll never forget, how those players are clutch in some big moments,” Kirkup says. “We carried momentum from there—next season, we had some strong players again, and we found some success again.”
The U15 AAA Wheat Kings went on to be the MFHL champions in back-to-back seasons (2022-23, 2023-24). Kirkup moved up to coach the U18 AAA Wheat Kings last season. She continues to watch the careers of the players she has coached—in fact, all six graduating players from her first U15 AAA team are moving on to become student-athletes this fall.
“The players that I was working with had a lot of resilience,” Kirkup says. “I have so much pride for those groups that our coaching staff initially got to work with and continue to work with now.”
As a player, Kirkup represented Manitoba twice at the U18 Women’s National Championship—she won bronze in 2011 and silver in 2012. Kirkup also had the opportunity to attend camp with Canada’s National Women’s Development Team in 2013. She always knew that she wanted to come back to Team Manitoba as a coach in some capacity. She applied to be a part of the coaching staff at the 2023 Canada Winter Games and was named an assistant coach.
“[I had] a couple of years of head coaching under my belt and I wanted to continue to push myself, chase that adversity and challenge myself to be a better coach and a better teacher,” she says.
Kirkup joined assistant Maddie Litchfield-Medd and head coach Ashley van Aggelen on the bench for the tournament—a full circle moment considering van Aggelen coached Kirkup at U18 Nationals back in 2012.
In 2024, Kirkup was an assistant coach with Manitoba at U18 Nationals, and she will lead her province at the 2025 tournament in Newfoundland and Labrador later this year. As someone who has both played and coached in the national championship, Kirkup brings a unique perspective to the bench.
“It’s very important to humanize the experience and to acknowledge that the reason you have nerves is because you care and you want to do well at these bigger events,” she says. “In short-term competition, it’s about building that trust early on and continuing to do little things to maintain that throughout a tournament.”
This season marks a new chapter for Kirkup. After four years with the Wheat Kings, she is moving to the U18 AAA Westman Wildcats to coach the team she grew up playing for.
“I’m so excited for this coming season. […] Some people that were involved when I was there as a player are still involved and are doing their best to create and maintain a program that has sent lots of players on to the post-secondary level,” she says. “I plan to go in there and continue on the legacy of that program.”
As she reflected on the impact of being one of the national recipients of a BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award, Kirkup is fortunate to have worked with and lean on some amazing coaching staffs—including working alongside her dad for two seasons.
“Having that experience in that relationship to have hard conversations, to incorporate the entire coaching staff, it’s important,” she says. “You’re doing the next best right thing, but you’re always evolving and you’re always learning.”
Kirkup encourages women that are getting started on their own coaching journeys to chase their own adversity.
“If you wait for the right moment to be ready to take on an assistant or head coaching role, that moment of readiness is never going to come,” she explains. “If you’re interested in coaching, dive into it with the best intentions and the best effort that you can. Ask questions, be open-minded and have fun with it.”