Melody Davidson (born 1962 or 1963) was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the Canadian national women's hockey team. She was the head coach of the gold medal winning

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

and

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

Canadian women's team. A graduate of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

, she was also the head coach of the

Cornell Big Red women's ice hockey The Cornell Big Red women's ice hockey program represents Cornell University and participates in Division I collegiate hockey in the ECAC Hockey conference. They play at the Lynah Rink in Ithaca, New York. The Ivy League announced in July 2 ...

team. Previously the head coach of the Connecticut College Camels women's ice hockey team.

Early life and education

Davidson was born in

Coronation, Alberta Coronation is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Paintearth No. 18. It is located at the intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 872, approximately west of the Saskatchewan border. History Coronation ...

but moved to

Oyen, Alberta Oyen is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada near the Saskatchewan boundary and north of Medicine Hat. It is on Highway 41, south of its junction with Highway 9. Early name, Bishopburg, was changed in 1912 to honour Andrew Oyen, an early s ...

after grade 3. After high school, she attended

Red Deer College , mottoeng = To Greater Things Through Learning , established = 1964 , type = Public polytechnic institute , president = Stuart Cullum , city = Red Deer , state = Alberta , country = Canada , students = 7,500 , undergrad = , campus = Ur ...

, where she earned a degree in physical education, and the

(U of A). With her bachelor's degree, Davidson accepted a position as a recreation director before attending the National Coaching Institute at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

Career

Davidson began coaching her brothers hockey team in 1978 and eventually graduated to women's hockey in 1989. As a coach, she led Team Alberta at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 Canada Winter Games. As a result, she was asked to be an assistant coach for the Canadian national women's hockey team at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

. After her Olympic Games experience where Team Canada won gold, she had caught the attention of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

who offered her a coaching position. As head coach at Cornell, she was appointed Head Coach of Team Canada for the 2004–2005 season, the

, where Canada won another gold medal, and at the

. Her role in the Olympics earned her various honours including being inducted into the

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum ...

and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. She was also awarded the 2010 Jack Donohue Coach of the Year Award and named to the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity's most influential women list. Subsequently she served as director of the Canadian women's team that won gold at the

2014 Sochi Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Coaching record

Cornell University

Managerial

On July 26, 2018, it was announced that

Gina Kingsbury Gina Kingsbury (born November 26, 1981) is a Canadian former women's professional ice hockey player. She graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in psychology, and ranks second all-time in scoring among St. Lawrence Skating Saints w ...

would take over Davidson's role as General Manager of the

Canada women's national ice hockey team The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada in women's hockey. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and participates in international competition ...

at Hockey Canada. Davidson stated that she left the position after eight years to focus on scouting. In 2022 she joined the professional women's

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and h ...

as director of league and hockey operations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Melody Living people Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductees Canadian ice hockey coaches Cornell University faculty Sportspeople from Alberta 1960s births