Calgary, AB – Global Sport Academy is extremely proud to announce the commitments of Isabella Borbridge and Katie Maloney to the Plymouth State Panthers of the NCAA Div. III’s New England Hockey Conference.

"I was able to watch both Bella and Katie at the annual STIX Cup Collegiate Exposure Tournament in June in Calgary,” recalls Plymouth State head coach Mykul Haun on his team’s 2 newest recruits. “Luckily enough for me I was able to track their development for the next two seasons.”

“Throughout the recruiting process the number one thing that we look for in our recruits is high character. Both of these student-athletes exhibited these qualities. No matter what challenges face our program, strong character will allow us as a team to overcome them.”

"Coach Haun is an outstanding coach who seems to always have a very positive outlook. He is very focused on achieving more and more with the PSU hockey program each year, but also has the players’ best interests at heart," elaborates Ms. Borbridge, a defender. “It was also great to meet the current team members, they are all so friendly and welcoming. The team also plays in a beautiful new arena, I love the location, it’s close to Boston and has a gorgeous campus along a river in the mountains of New Hampshire. I’m really looking forward to living there!”

“The course offerings at Plymouth State are great and are making it hard to determine exactly what my major will be. However, the university is very flexible about the selection of majors/minors and also provide a lot of academic support for their students.”

“I think the most appealing part of Plymouth State is the coach. Coach Haun is an amazing person who truly cares about each one of his players as people first and hockey players second,” adds Ms. Maloney, who also plays at the defense position. “I also think he runs an amazing hockey program but also cares very much about our academics. I’m so happy to be part of such as amazing program!”

“Bella has the potential to transition into a very good two-way defenseman with her skating ability and flashes of offensive opportunities that I have seen during the recruiting process,” explains coach Haun as he expands on the recruits’ skillsets. “Katie shows as your classic defensive defenseman with her traits; great vision, underrated 1st pass capabilities, and the ability to defend in front of the net. These skills are a lost tradition in hockey, but the added benefit is that Katie also possess a very high hockey IQ.”

Both skaters will be graduating high school in the summer of 2020. Isabella, Grade 12, is a member of the Calgary Jr. Chaos while Katie, also Grade 12, plays for the Calgary Fire Midget Elite Red squad. Both are members of Global’s full-time Academy program and will be heading into their freshman years with the Panthers in the 2020 fall semester.

”Some challenges as a freshman would be learning to balance hockey and university schooling together, moving so far away from home and adjusting to the speed and strength of the girls in the NCAA compared to Midget hockey,” expands Ms. Maloney on the challenges ahead. “I’m currently training with Global as well as the Fire [Midget program] to get ready for this upcoming journey and I am keeping on top of my academics to prepare myself for next year. I am so happy that Bella is joining me on this journey, I think that it will make the whole transition [to the NCAA] a lot easier.”

“I think the biggest challenge will be time management,” Ms. Borbridge agrees. “I will really have to make sure I am on top of my courses so that I can enjoy both school and hockey and also have time to take part in some of the other activities that Plymouth state has to offer.”

“I am both anxious and excited to move to another country, and having a close friend and teammate like Katie with me will make that so much easier – we will be able to help each other adjust to our new surroundings, and also to the challenges of doing really well at both university level courses and NCAA hockey!”

On behalf of the entire Global Sport Academy Group, we’d like to congratulate both Katie and Isabella (as well as their families) for their hard work and commitment, and we ask everyone to join us in celebrating both athletes’ accomplishments as they head into a new phase of their careers!