By Total Sports
Jackie Jarrell was born and raised in Corbyville, Ontario growing up on her family dairy farm, RJ Farms. She played minor hockey with the boys Belleville Bobcats “AA” and the Quinte Red Devils “AAA.”
After a short stint with the Belleville Bearcats, at the age of 16, Jackie played for the Durham Lightning of the National Women’s Hockey League (N.W.H.L) presently called the C.W.H.L. She was honoured to be selected and won a Gold Medal with Team Ontario at the Canada Winter Games in 2003. She attended Mercyhurst University on a NCAA Division 1 Ice Hockey Scholarship where she graduated with a degree in Sports Medicine. During her tenure at Mercyhurst, she won four straight College Hockey America Regular Season and Playoff Championships while making three NCAA Elite 8 appearances. Jackie was an Assistant Captain of the Mercyhurst team, that was ranked 1st in the nation for the majority of the season in 2006, marking the first time of this achievement in the program’s history. She is especially proud of this achievement as she was sidelined with a concussion for over a year and doctors doubted if she would ever play again.
Jackie has been a member of Team Canada Inline for 11 years playing in 11 World Championships to date. She is a two-time World Champion while also earning six Silver and two Bronze Medals. She has been an Assistant Captain with Team Canada since 2011.
After winning the Gold Medal and World Championship “Leading Scorer” award in 2012, Jackie was honoured to receive the prestigious Robinson Kelleher Memorial Award as “Belleville’s Athlete of the Year” in 2013.
Jackie graduated with an Education Degree from Queen’s University in 2009 and currently runs the St. Theresa Catholic Secondary School Hockey Program. Jackie also worked for 15 years as the “Head Female Instructor” for the now departed Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League at their annual summer hockey camps.
In 2013, Jackie completed her master’s degree in Exercise Science at Mercyhurst University. Jackie has said “I feel so fortunate to have had so many incredible experiences in my life with the sport of hockey and it is important to give back and inspire today’s young athletes to reach their goals.” “I always wanted to do something meaningful in my life and I knew no matter how good of a hockey player I was, I would never make millions playing like the men.
This was how Gold Performance Training was started. She built a brand-new state-of-the-art training facility where she is the Strength and Conditioning Coach to well over 120 athletes (in the Quinte area & beyond) of all ages and sport levels. Jackie currently trains several NCAA, CIS, OHL, Hockey Canada and Rep athletes. She enjoys assisting athletes to achieve their goals through fitness, nutrition, and mentorship programs. Most recently Jackie was named a Fitness Consultant with the N.H.L. Officials Academy and was featured by the N.H.L. Network as a “female who is breaking barriers” by working in the N.H.L.
After suffering a very serious concussion when she was in university, she was fortunate to work with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center under the direction of World-Renown Concussion Specialists. This rehabilitation was her inspiration in starting a Concussion Testing and Rehab Program at her facility where she has seen over 1500 athletes for testing as she turns her negative experience into a positive one by giving back and helping others.
“I work in a very much male dominant career so I can appreciate how hard women must work to gain the same respect as males. We all face challenges and hurdles you must overcome. Believe in yourself every step of the way, even when someone tells you — ‘you can’t do it’, YOU CAN!”
