Angela James - Coaching and Officiating

Coaching and Officiating

James has been active in many areas of the sport. She gained accreditation as a referee in Canada in 1980, and has been an active official since. As a referee in a Senior D women's game in 1986, James was involved in an altercation with a player that resulted in the player becoming the first woman banned for life from the OWHA. The player became upset at a penalty James assessed, shoved a linesman and punched her. James ultimately gained level IV certification through Hockey Canada and has served as the OWHA's Referee-in-Chief.

Upon her graduation from Seneca College, James took up coaching. Serving first as an assistant coach, she helped Seneca win the Ontario college championship, it's third consecutive title. The school again repeated as champions in 1987 with James as its head coach. She has coached at all age levels of the game, including the national championship. She was an assistant with the gold medal winning Team Ontario at the 1999 Canada Winter Games, and led Ontario to a gold medal at the 2001 under-18 national championship. Prior to the 2010-11 CWHL season, she was named Brampton Thunder head coach but, finding the responsibilities too time consuming, she stepped down in December, 2010. She believes she can offer the most at the grassroots level of the sport, and has operated both her own hockey school and directed one organized through Seneca College.