Game On Magazine - April 2017 Game on Preview Edition | Page 122

we are
amily
B y S c o t t Tay l o r
Photos by James Carey
Lauder and Jeff Miller and
courtesy Regan Boulton
and Sarah Zacharias
1 2 2 | G AM E O N | SE P T EM BER 2 0 1 7
For Sarah Zacharias
and her sisters Bethany
and Katie, Balmoral Hall
Blazers is a family thing
Bethany, the oldest of the
three siblings works in Balmoral
Hall’s boarding students,
especially the international
students and the hockey
players. Sarah is the new
acting director of hockey for
the Balmoral Hall Blazers prep
program and just recently,
youngest sister Katie, was
named the second assistant
coach with the Blazers,
handling communications,
social media and some on-ice
duties.
However, not only does
Sarah have her sisters nearby,
but her first assistant coach
is her longtime friend and
former Balmoral Hall teammate
Regan Boulton. If you want to
call the Balmoral Hall Blazers
prep women’s hockey team
a family, you certainly aren’t
exaggerating.
“Yep, it’s the Zach and Boots
coaching staff,” said Sarah with
a laugh. “We’ve put together a
great group of coaches here and
I’m proud of the direction we’re
taking and the group we’ve
assembled.”
Since she was in Grade 12,
Balmoral Hall has been a way
of life for Sarah Zacharias. At
least, in a big, roundabout way.
Like so many young
Manitobans, she started skating
when she was four-years-old
and then started playing hockey
because “all my friends were
playing.”
Again, like so many female
players in the province, she
played boys hockey until she
was 14 and then moved over to
Double A Bantam at Pembina
Trails.
“I played with the boys every
year until I turned 14 and
then, coincidentally I played
for a team coach by my dad Al
Zacharias and Gerry Wilson,
who, of course I worked for
as assistant coach here at Bal
until the end of last season,”
she said, referring to the man
she replaced as (acting) director
of hockey at Balmoral Hall. “I
played girls Double A because
that’s all we had them. We
didn’t have a Triple A program