Faculty of Kinesiology

Sarah Hilworth joined UNB in June 2017 as the coach of the REDS women’s hockey team.  The team had just been reinstated and Sarah had the task of preparing and recruiting for the year prior to the 2018-19 USport Season.  The 2021-22 season is Sarah’s fourth season as head coach.  Sarah played five seasons for the University of Alberta women’s hockey team where she also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sports, Recreation and Tourism. Although she initially enrolled in a Bachelor of Physical Education program with sights on teaching, she quickly realized this was not the career path for her.  A teammate was studying in the recreation stream and Sarah became excited about learning about recreation and sport management.  Sarah furthered her studies and earned a Master of Science in Coaching from Ohio University in 2017. 

As a professional coach Sarah feels she uses the skill and knowledge gained on a daily basis.  “I am so thankful that I had the education to help me excel especially in program planning. I use my education almost every day when it comes to program planning, leadership, management, marketing, and many other topics I learned at university. It certainly has helped me categorize areas that help me maneuver through the day and helps me be efficient with my time.”

Sarah is one of two facilitators in The Phillips Sports Leadership Academy at UNB which provides an ongoing and integrated approach to leadership development by targeting and training three distinct groups of student-athlete leaders: Emerging Leaders, Veteran Leaders, and Leadership 360.  Sarah brings together the perspective as a former student-athlete, understanding as a coach to highlight leadership behaviours that lead to success. “I think it is important for the student-athletes to have a welcoming environment where they can learn and help grow team cultures together.”

As a professional coach, Sarah feels a responsibility to engage in social issues using the athletics platform. During the pandemic Sarah used this team building time to "allow our players to gain an understanding on how we can impact our community, and I believe that is our role to allow all people involved with our program to change the world we live in". This has resulted in several student-athlete led initiatives and involvement with: Bell Let's Take, Pink in Red, Black Girls Hockey Club, the Inclusion Initiative, and Indigenous Girls Learn to Play Hockey Camp. "I want our student-athletes to have a voice and want to make a difference in the world. I believe it is my responsibility to give them the platform and support in order to execute. There are so many more conversations that we need to have as a society, and I want to make sure that our players feel that they can walk into society and know what to expect. That they understand that life is not fair and there are no handouts, but they also understand that they can make a difference in the world or a difference for someone else in the world."