Meagan Cormier Hamilton BKin’16

By Julie Woldu BAJ'07

When Meagan Cormier Hamilton BKin'16 joined the University of Regina Cougar women’s soccer team in 2009, she had one goal – to play somewhere she knew she would continue to enjoy the game. She found that and so much more. “They were the best years of my playing career,” she says of her five seasons, which she finished in 2013 as the all-time leading career scorer, a record she still holds with 21 career goals and 12 assists. “Playing soccer created a work ethic and commitment for me, but playing with the U of R really pushed me outside of my comfort zone and challenged me to be better … it taught me to elevate every characteristic, every quality that I could, which now applies to running a business or being a wife or a mom or a friend.”

Hamilton grew up playing soccer in Regina. She was selected to play for Team Saskatchewan at multiple national tournaments and traveled to Edmonton monthly as part of the National Team Program. As rewarding as it was, the intensity in a national program led to uncertainty if soccer was even in her future. “I had a bad injury and even took a full year off of soccer between Grade 10 and 11,” she says. “I had to decide: did I want to continue to pursue soccer and work harder and get better, or am I done?”

Needless to say, she decided to continue and even spent a summer in 2008 playing for a semi-professional team, the Edmonton Angels, in the Alberta Major Soccer League. It reignited her confidence and elevated her love of the game and it made her focus on what the sport truly meant and what she wanted out of university.

Individual on soccer pitch.
Meagan Cormier Hamilton BKin'16 on the pitch in 2009. Photo: U of R Athletics

“I had so much fun playing for the Cougars. It was the best decision I could have made.”

When Hamilton joined the Cougars in 2009, she helped the team continue to build upon the foundation of players-turned-friends — spending as much time together off the field as on it, even travelling together on vacations in the off-season and taking a humanitarian trip together to Mexico in 2012. “When everyone is treated as family and loves and respects one another, it translates on the field, and you want to play for each other,” she says.

By her fourth season in 2012, the Cougars finished third in the conference. They hosted a playoff game against the University of Saskatchewan at the beginning of November. “It was so cold,” Hamilton recalls. “We scored in the first 15 minutes of the game and then in the last 30 seconds, U of Stied the game and we had to play a 30-minute overtime. We didn’t usually get a lot of fans to our games, and that year, with our first playoff game, most of the other Cougar sports teams came out to support us. It was the most packed I have ever seen the stands and the fans stuck it out through that blizzard. When no one scored in overtime, it went to a shootout. We won and everyone rushed the field. It was a surreal experience.”

Hamilton spent a month playing for Team Canada at the Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia, before her final season began. Following the season, she took a break from soccer. She focused on her education, finishing her Bachelor of Kinesiology degree at the U of R instead of taking opportunities to play professional soccer in Europe. Soon her interest in fitness turned to bodybuilding. “It was another passion I had found,” she says. “I started personal training and began my own business. It’s crazy to think that I took about six years away from playing any soccer, but I found other avenues of athleticism that I really enjoyed.”

During that time, she met her future husband through bodybuilding, and in 2018, she moved to his home in Houston, Texas, where she is now an owner of Team Hybralete. It’s also where she returned to soccer. “We started an indoor women’s professional team and are very involved in the soccer community,” she says, adding that life is busy with their four Huskies. She and her husband are also expecting their first baby in April of 2025, which has meant a step back from playing soccer while she continues to manage the team.

Hamilton remains close friends with the women she played with on the Cougars and keeps up with the current team. While she is grateful to have left a legacy with her scoring records, she also waits for the day when someone beats them. “I’m really proud of how the program continues to evolve,” she says. “I had so much fun playing for the Cougars. It was the best decision I could have made.”

Top: Meagan Cormier Hamilton BKin'16. Photo: Michael Hamilton

About the Author

Julie Woldu BAJ’07 is a sportswriter and fiction author based in Regina.

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Hockey brought Darrin McKechnie to the University of Regina Cougars, but he left with more than just success on the ice - he gained valuable preparation for the future. "I owe the program a ton," says McKechnie, looking back at the past few decades, which began with five years playing with the Cougars between 1988 and 1993. "I would never have guessed that this is the path that would present itself. I'm just a very, very lucky person."

After playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, McKechnie played for two seasons with the WHL's Regina Pats, amassing an impressive point total. He considered options for playing professional hockey in Europe, but ultimately decided to take advantage of his WHL scholarship money and attend university. "Bill Liskowich was the Men's Hockey Head Coach at the U of R. He called me, and I had so much respect for Bill, so it just seemed like a really good fit to go and play for him."

Under Coach Liskowich, the team quickly improved, even finishing in first place in 1991-92, though ultimately, the Cougars lost that year in the league final to the University of Alberta Golden Bears, as they had in 1990-91 and would in 1992-93. "We were ranked number one in Canada a couple of those years," McKechnie recalls, noting that making it to the final three years in a row were particularly memorable. "We had a lot of success and won a lot of games. I have so many highlights, from being a fledgling team trying to get into that upper echelon to upset victories over Calgary for our first playoff series win."

His greatest highlight, however, was the long-lasting friendships he made with his teammates from those five years. "We were such a tight group then and still are all these years later." McKechnie also won a few national awards, including being named to the Canada West All-Star team in 1992 - the same year he was named the CIS Most Sportsmanlike Player.

Black and white archival image of individual in hockey jersey Darrin McKechnie BA(Adv)'93 Photo: U of R Athletics

"I'm looking forward to hopefully being with the team for a long time."

His five years of successful, enjoyable hockey with the Cougars led to a career with the Regina Police Service and coaching opportunities that continue to this day. "After five years of going to school, I had a degree, I had some life experience, and it translated into a successful application with the Regina Police," says McKechnie. "I can't imagine doing anything else as a career. I loved every second."

Becoming a police officer hadn't been McKechnie's plan. He achieved a Bachelor of Arts with a major in geography, assuming he would become an urban planner. Instead, after a few conversations with close friends who were police officers, he considered a different path. His career took him through various roles within the Regina Police Service, including 12 years on the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. "It was exceptional training and so much of a team atmosphere, just like hockey," he says. McKechnie also worked in the gang unit, major crimes, and then entered management, where he was in charge of the SWAT team and other specialty units such as K9, the bomb team, crisis negotiators, and the dive team.

While advancing his career and growing his family, McKechnie stayed heavily involved in hockey. He played senior hockey, including in the Allan Cup in 2000 along with several of his former Cougar teammates, before coaching became his focus.

His first opportunity to coach was with Liskowich, who asked him to return as an assistant coach with the Cougars in 1996 - which meant coaching some of his former teammates. When Liskowich left the team after the 1999-2000 season, McKechnie also decided to step away and would soon begin coaching his son, Tanner, who was then in 3-4-5 hockey. "I kept on moving up with him and coached every year, until he left to play junior hockey," he says. "It was great. He and I are very close, and I think a lot of that is because we spent so much time together." McKechnie spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant coach with the Regina Pats before taking over as coach of the Midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians for eight years.

Today, McKechnie spends time on his acreage, where he enjoys hunting, fishing, and riding horses. He's also watched his children succeed - his son as a firefighter and his daughter as she finished her first degree at the U of R and is now in her second year as a medical student through the University of Saskatchewan on the Regina Campus.

He has now returned to his role as an assistant coach with the Cougar men's hockey team after head coach Todd Johnson asked him to join the team this season. "It's been 30 years, but the hockey is the same, and the players are very dialed in and want to be better," says McKechnie. "I'm looking forward to hopefully being with the team for a long time."

Top: Darrin McKechnie BA(Adv)'93. Photo: Trevor Hopkin, U of R Photography

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We're celebrating with our valued alumni and surrounding community during Alumni Week - on now through October 26! Running from October 20 - 26, Alumni Week boasts engaging activities, exciting sporting events, fun socials, and spirited celebrations.

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