Lale FassoneThe University of Alberta Sports Wall of Fame has recently inducted Carla Duncan, a Pandas field hockey athlete and coach. Duncan played for the Pandas for six years and coached the team for seven more. She led the field hockey team to their sole national title.
Going on the wall of fame is “a real honour” for Duncan. “It’s fun to look back and reflect on those years. [They] were such a great time of my life,” Duncan said.
Duncan started with the Pandas as a player in 1991 while pursuing her Bachelor of Education in Physical Education. In 2002, she returned as the team’s head coach for the following seven years. She said that the transition from athlete to coach was “quite easy.”
“I had dreamt of [coaching] since I was a young kid. To be able to coach and to pursue something that I was extremely passionate about, [I was really] fortunate,” Duncan said.
Moreover, Duncan sees attending the U of A as one of her “best decisions.” As an athlete, she said she constantly surrounded herself with strong female role models who pushed her athletically and academically.
“It was an environment where you were always working. You were always pursuing something, but it was in a pretty constructive and positive way. There were ups and downs [like] with anything that you do, but to be able to succeed and have the next goal or the next person pushing you is something that I will cherish forever,” Duncan said.
While a coach and athlete, Duncan earned an array of titles. Looking back now, Duncan said this isn’t what she remembers about her time with the Pandas.
“It’s never about yourself. Those exist, but I couldn’t tell you any of them. You remember the people, and the circumstances. I have lasting friendships. I still see people that I played with and coached with all the time. Those are the moments that you remember,” Duncan said.
Championship win will “stay with all the people that were involved for the rest of their lives”
In 2005, Duncan led the Pandas Field Hockey team to its sole national championship win. This was three years after she started coaching the team.
“I can still remember counting down the seconds on the sidelines, and then … running onto the field, tackling people, and lots of hugs. It was an elation of all that hard work, time, and effort to come through and to win a national championship. I’m sure it’ll stay with all the people that were involved for the rest of their lives, ” Duncan said.
Although that moment was one that Duncan will never forget, she highlights that seeing her athletes grow and develop into strong leaders through her coaching was “ideal.”
“You recruit people from different backgrounds and different parts of the country. You bring them in and mold them into a team. There’s nothing better than seeing people grow and achieve their dreams, and you being a small part of that,” Duncan said.
“It was never really about the wins and losses. That’s kind of almost the cherry on top. You wanted people to have success and take those lessons that they’ve learned and apply them to the way they thin.”
