She'll Always Be A Champion

Having covered hockey for a long time, I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of people. There's an old saying that one should never meet one's heroes, but there are people you meet who become heroes for who they are. The woman to the left, Erica Rieder, is one of those people as I was privileged enough to watch her develop from a quiet rookie to an all-star defender to a U SPORTS National Champion to a respected captain before becoming a solid professional hockey player with MoDo in the SDHL. Needless to say, it was a little shocking when she announced she was hanging up the skates before the age of 25.

I respect and understand the reasons some women walk away from the game. Professional careers can potentially offer more than professional women's hockey in some cases, and that's one of the main reasons a number of women leave the game. It sucks that this is the reality that we live in, but c'est la vie in 2022 at this point. While I'm never one to tell anyone not to pursue their dreams, Erica walked away from hockey to do exactly that - pursue a dream!

The legend of Erica's athletic ability was known in and around Wayne Fleming Arena when she played for the University of Manitoba, but she decided to put hockey on the back burner and follow her dreams on a different path. Here's Erica talking about her new path and the goal of one day representing Canada on the Olympic stage!

I want to be upfront and let everyone know that this isn't some sponsored post by RBC or the RBC Training Ground. I was watching hockey the other day, and the above commercial was aired during the broadcast which made me sit up and say "Hey, I know her!" as I watched. Personally, I still want to support Erica despite her not playing hockey at a professional level any longer, and, if I can make a few more people aware of her story, it's the very least I can do.

I mentioned that Erica's athletic ability is the stuff of legends, so I'll spread the story here and now. Erica was already a strong cyclist before she decided to make the switch to track cycling. While velodromes are slightly different than hockey arenas, the training for both sports involves a lot of cardiovascular and endurance training while having incredibly strong legs and core muscles to power the body in both disciplines. Her hockey ability was well-known, but the cycling part was less so until we were informed of her pre-training camp endeavour she undertook prior to her senior year.

Erica's family lives in Regina, so the long-time defender needed to make the trek back to Winnipeg to begin preparing for her final season of Canada West hockey. Most players would simply pack up the car and make the trip east, but not Erica. Instead, her and her dad hopped on their bikes and cycled all the way from Regina to Winnipeg a week before camp started! Saying Erica was in the best shape of her life before her final season might be an understatement, but there was no doubt that she was ready for prime time once she arrived at camp!

If Erica's dream is to go to the Olympics on a bike rather than on skates, I'm here to support that. She was always gracious and generous with her time when she was asked to do an interview, and she'll always be a champion in my books no matter what medal she brings home. It should be noted that Erica competed at the 2021 National Final and broke every record in her age group, so her future looks very bright when it comes to representing Canada in the future.

Everyone should have their televisions tuned to TSN on December 5 when the top-thirty athletes who competed at the RBC Training Ground will be selected for funding to continue their training, and those named will be announced after the Raptors game that night. The broadcast will be hosted by TSN reporter Kayla Grey and RBC Olympian Miranda Ayim, and I'll be pulling for one of those thirty names to be "Erica Rieder" after she had a solid showing at the 2022 qualifying event.

If Rieder's pursuit of a dream seems unlikely to you, I should remind you that former University of Alberta soccer player Kelsey Mitchell is an Olympic gold medalist in cycling after she won gold in Tokyo in 2020. Just because their paths to realizing their dreams changed from their original sporting plans, it certainly doesn't mean that the dream can't still be realized.

"It's been a tough transition but I know that the regret of not trying to pursue this Olympic dream would be harder than giving up hockey," Rieder told Taylor Shire of Global News. "I feel like it's now or never to make this transition.

"I know I would probably have five or six more years with hockey but I think there's a timeline on this dream, just because of my age, so now's the time and I think I can do it."

Personally, I think she can do it as well, and I base that on her accomplishing everything on which she set her focus while skating for the University of Manitoba. We'll know in a couple of weeks if she'll be a part of the funding to help her train for Paris 2024, but, if one were to ask me, that should be a no-brainer.

Regardless of whatever happens between now and the next Summer Olympiad, it should be pretty clear that I believe that Erica Rieder is a champion in life. That carries over into her sporting efforts, but it requires no medal because it's pretty evident in how she carries herself on the ice, on the track, and in day-to-day life.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!