Some Team Yukon coaches know exactly what it takes to compete at the Arctic Winter Games because they’ve been there themselves.

Jamie Joe-Hudson has been playing soccer since she was five years old. The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations citizen has competed in three Arctic Winter Games in futsal — indoor soccer played with smaller teams, typically on a court the size of a basketball court — winning two silver medals in 2012 and 2016. 

Now, she’s back at the games, this time as a coach. Joe-Hudson is coaching the U18 girls futsal team at this year’s games in Whitehorse, her second games as a coach.

Joe-Hudson said becoming a coach was a “natural progression” for her. She started by coaching tots soccer when she was in grade eight, and then she progressed to coaching high school athletes in Grade 11 and 12.

Joe-Hudson first coached at the Arctic Winter Games in 2024, when the games were in Palmer, Alaska. The team took home a silver ulu.

She wasn’t sure she would come back to coach at the 2026 games. But after two athletes approached her and asked if she and the team’s assistant coach, Travis Banks, would take on the role, she said she couldn’t say no.

“Once we had that kind of ask, I was like, there’s no question in mind,” she said. 

Joe-Hudson said her approach to coaching has been shaped by her experiences as a young athlete.

“Growing up as an Indigenous woman, I really struggled with that sense of self and sense of belonging. But no matter what was happening … I always knew that when I stepped on the court, I had value, and I had purpose,” she said.

“If I can help athletes also feel the same way, it feels really powerful.”

Joe-Hudson’s team is going for gold Friday against Team Alaska — something she has done before as both an athlete and coach. As her team steps out on the court for the last time in these games, Joe-Hudson will know exactly what those nerves feel like and how to support her players.

“I know a lot of them are — they’re nervous, and I try to tell them that’s really just like excitement,” she said. “Everyone’s here to support them and see everything that they’ve worked towards.”

‘It would be a disservice if I kept that all to myself’

Team Yukon’s U19 girls basketball team is going for bronze Friday, and that team is also being led by a former athlete who is very familiar with high pressure games.

Head Coach Claire Abbott played professional basketball in the United Kingdom and varsity basketball for Nipissing University.

Abbott grew up in Whitehorse before moving to Ottawa in 2009. She eventually made her way back to the territory in 2017 and has been coaching basketball on and off since.

Abbott said she started playing basketball in grade five after watching her father coach and her sister play and quickly fell in love with the sport.

“The biggest thing is the sense of community that it builds, and the friendships that you make, and learning how to play with the team, the pressure … learning to be resilient.” 

Now, Abbott is taking what she learned and passing it on to the Yukon’s next generation of players.

“I’ve had so many opportunities to learn from coaches from all over the world, and it would be a disservice if I kept that all to myself.”

These games are Abbott’s fourth Arctic Winter Games and her second as a coach. Abbott also coached basketball at the 2018 games and was an athlete at the 2006 and 2008 games in table tennis. 

Abbott said she wanted to become a coach because giving back to the community is important to her. 

“I love bringing out the best in others. I love how, like, the belief in each other comes through, and just strategizing and making adjustments and seeing how they respond to pressure,” she said. 

Abbott said her team’s performance in the tournament has been incredible to watch. And no matter what happens in the bronze medal game, she said her team will have gained so much from competing on this stage.

“It’s really cool to see all the communities coming together, and the camaraderie and the sportsmanship and the electrifying atmospheres that it creates is really inspiring,” she said.

“And I think that’s what really lasts a lifetime.”