Chelsea Walkland has spent her coaching career serving as an assistant coach, but that doesn’t mean the Henrietta, N.Y., native takes a back seat to anyone when it comes to the success her teams have enjoyed on the ice. 

Since finishing her playing career at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh in 2010, Walkland has been an integral part of coaching staffs at several universities, including at Colgate, where she is now in her fifth season serving on the staff of head coach Greg Fargo.

Still, Walkland spent the summer as she usually does, helping to develop some of the nation’s top young talent as a coach at USA Hockey’s Player Development Camps. 

What was different this summer was that she also stepped into the coaching spotlight to lead the U.S. Collegiate Women’s Select Team to a three-game sweep over their Canadian counterparts in Lake Placid. It was a role that was a long time coming and one that Walkland felt very comfortable taking on.

“Last year I got my feet wet a little bit with the international game by being on staff with the [U.S. Women’s] Under-18s. This year it was really cool being with the collegiate group and athletes that are of the same age that I typically work with,” Walkland said

But before she could succeed in the role, there was a great deal of learning on the fly.

“First of all, I was talking way more in front of the group than I normally am,” she laughed. “You’re overseeing everything. It’s like you’re a conductor and making sure that you’re providing clarity and alignment for the group. That was something that really stuck out. You’re coordinating everyone and trying to get everyone on the same page.”

It helps to have a solid staff. Walkland gives a lot of the credit to her fellow coaches who joined her on this journey, including Lindsay Berman, who oversaw the defense, Holley Tyng, who coached the forwards and goalie coach Mackenzie Bruch.

Despite dedicating so much time during the season to her regular collegiate coaching duties, Walkland continues to give back to the next generation of players having been involved with various player development camps since 2012, including serving as the New York State District evaluator.

“Working at those camps is great. They draw in the best talent in the country, coaching wise, so you have some veteran coaches and some young eager coaches just getting their feet wet,” she said. 

“The opportunity to network and to learn and grow, it ends up being a great week of talking hockey, sharing ideas and learning from some of the best minds in the game and having fun while you’re at it.”

It’s all part of an evolution that began for Walkland as it did for so many female hockey players – with the success of the 1998 U.S. Olympic Team. And like many girls, her first taste of competition came from competing on boys’ teams. 

She was 9 years old when she first started playing in the Rochester Americans program before eventually joining the Rochester Edge Girls program. She would return to compete with boys her last two years at Rush-Henrietta High School before launching a four-year career at Robert Morris.

“I started playing at a later age, but I absolutely fell in love with the game,” she said. “I loved everything about it, the speed, the new challenge of skating and puck handling. I also loved the camaraderie of being on a team, traveling around and stuff like that.”

It’s that love of the game that Walkland has carried with her on coaching journey. It’s why everywhere she has gone success seems to follow.

Walkland joined the Colgate program after spending five years at her alma mater as an assistant coach, where she helped the Colonials win three College Hockey America regular season titles and make an NCAA Final Eight appearance in the 2016-17 campaign.

Prior to returning to Robert Morris, Walkland spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the State University of New York at Oswego and another with the Rochester Institute of Technology. 

At Oswego, the Lakers enjoyed two of their best seasons ever, and at RIT she helped lead the Tigers to a 28-1-1 record and Division III national championship.

Each of those opportunities allowed Walkland to build her coaching resume as she learned from numerous coaches along the way.

“It’s been my mindset with any stop that I’ve had in my coaching career or any opportunity that I’ve been afforded, I try and be the best wherever my feet are at the time,” she said. 

“If you are in the present and focus on being the best you can and taking as much as you can from where you are, it allows you to be better prepared for any opportunity that comes your way.”

Having made the most of her first opportunity to serve as a head coach at the international level, Walkland is likely on a short list the next time USA Hockey brass is picking staffs to lead other national teams. And even if it doesn’t, she views the experience as another chance to grow as both a coach and a person.

“For myself and a lot of coaches, that’s what we love about the job. It’s different every day,” she said. “You have opportunities to push yourself [and] get outside your comfort zone. I think any new experience allows you an opportunity to get better and to grow and just be ready for what opportunities come your way.”