Coach Jay Wolitski was born in Alberta and grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan, a Canadian province bordering the United States. Like her cousin, Colorado Extreme President Sheldon Wolitski, she’s been on the ice for as long as she can remember. After all, when in Canada…

Ever since Jay first picked up a hockey stick at five years old, she was hooked. She could always find a pick-up game in her neighborhood and soon discovered what hockey meant to her community. There were not a lot of opportunities at her doorstep in the small town where she grew up, but hockey set a path toward a world of options. “I knew that hockey was my ticket out,” Coach Jay reflects. From that point on, she was determined to be the best goalie (her position) she could be.

Not only was hockey a means for Coach Jay to pursue fulfilling accomplishments, but she loves the action and the bliss of the sport itself. “Hockey gives you the opportunity to clear your mind and requires focus,” she explains. “When you go out there and you’re on a clean sheet of ice, it represents opportunities and a fresh start; it’s very zen for me.”

As a kid, she played wherever she could — whether that be on girls' or boys' teams. Jay could take a hit and stop any puck. She jumped at each opportunity the sport set before her.

She completed her first years of high school at Notre Dame and as a senior attended College Mathieu (a French school). Being a boarding student, she spent most of high school away from home. While her mother encouraged the young athlete to pursue hockey, the effort to succeed fell on Jay’s shoulders.

The University of Quinnipiac in Connecticut took notice of Jay’s talent on the ice and awarded her a four-year, full-ride scholarship. She studied international business as an undergraduate and went on to achieve a Master’s Degree in business administration. After college, she specialized in private equity.

Coach Jay recalls a quote she’s adopted over the years as a personal mantra: “Successful people live their life backward; they create a future and then live into it.”

Being bicultural and a woman, Jay, at times, felt singled out among the hockey community. Her dad is Guyanese and her mom is Ukrainian, Polish. But, when it comes to Colorado Extreme, “The diversity part of it is what really drove me,” explains Coach Jay. That unfortunately innate notion of isolation has been turned upside down thanks to Colorado Extreme.

Another of her favorite aspects of the program is the sense of community Colorado Extreme is instilling. Coach Jay looks forward to the Saturday night potluck following the Colorado Extreme Bash 6U and 8U games. “It’s the highlight of the week I look forward to,” she says. “All the parents get to know each other; it’s very much a community.”

Jay has coached a number of youth hockey teams and finds purpose in paying forward what hockey has done for her. She speaks very highly of her Colorado Extreme colleagues and commends their devotion to the program and development of the young aspiring hockey players.

Coach Jay regards Colorado Extreme’s offering of equipment for free as providing an equitable opportunity for any youth to participate. This is especially dear to her, as she remembers her mom working multiple jobs and partaking in fundraising tasks to help finance Jay’s hockey programming.

Jay enjoys her full schedule of coaching hockey and also teaches guitar on her day off. “Introducing new kids to hockey is really, really rewarding for me,” she says.