Sommer West (born April 24, 1978 in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and raised in

Bowmanville Bowmanville is a community of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2. Bowmanville was first incorporated a ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

) was a Canadian Olympic softball player at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. In addition, she was a former member of the Canadian national women's hockey team. She was also an ice hockey player in the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; ) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's Senior ice hockey, senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league expanded into Alberta (2011) and ...

(CWHL). West has competed for the

Mississauga Chiefs The Mississauga Chiefs were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in the Canadian National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). They played in Mississauga, Ontario at the Hershey Centre and t ...

and

Burlington Barracudas The Burlington Barracudas were a professional women's ice hockey team based in Burlington, Ontario. They were one of the founding teams of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) from its inaugural season in 2007 until 2012. The Barracudas� ...

in the CWHL. Currently, she is the head coach of the

Toronto Furies The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...

of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. As head coach of the

, she led the squad to the 2014 Clarkson Cup championship.

Athletic career

West was a prominent softball player. She was an All-Star shortstop at both the 1997 and 1998 Canadian women's Nationals. She helped earn a silver medal for Canada in softball at the Pan Am Games in 1999. In addition, West was a member of

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, competing at first base. One of her teammates was Olympic ice hockey player

Hayley Wickenheiser Hayley Wickenheiser (born August 12, 1978) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, physician and assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. She was the first woman to play full-time professional men’s hockey in a position other ...

. West also played first base on the 2002 National softball team.

Hockey

In ice hockey, West was a member of the U18 Canadian national champions, and a member of the Canadian Under 22 National Team in 1999. West also participated with the Senior National women's team in two Four Nations Cup tournaments (1998 and 1999, respectively). She also played for Canada in a series vs. Sweden in January 2001 and the TSN Challenge vs. USA in January 2001. Five years later, West attended the Canadian National Women's Team Fall Festival in

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The history of the name exten ...

, Ontario. At the age of eighteen, West competed in the

National Women's Hockey League The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), com ...

. She was part of four NWHL championships four consecutive years. In 2005-06, she led the league in points and was voted NWHL Offensive Player of the Year. With the

of the NWHL, West also served as team captain during 2007-08. Her teammates on the Chiefs have included Olympic gold medallists

Jennifer Botterill Jennifer Botterill (born May 1, 1979) is a Canadian former women's hockey player and current hockey broadcast television analyst who played for Harvard University, the Canadian national team, the Mississauga Chiefs, and the Toronto Aeros. She ...

and

Sami Jo Small Sami Jo Small (born March 25, 1976) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. As a member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team, Canadian national team, she was an Olympic Games, Olympic gold medallist and four-time IIHF World Women ...

. As a member of the Mississauga Chiefs, she competed in the Esso Women's Nationals in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.

CWHL

In the

2011 CWHL Draft The 2011 CWHL Draft was held on July 21, 2011 in Mississauga. The Montreal Stars had the first pick overall and selected Meghan Agosta from Mercyhurst College. Top 50 picks Draft picks by team Alberta Boston Brampton Burlington Mo ...

, she was selected by the

. West retired after the 2011-12 CWHL season, leaving the five-year-old league as the CWHL's fifth-best scorer with 149 points (125 games played from 2007-08 to 2011-12). She scored a goal in her final CWHL game. Currently, she is the head coach of the

Career stats

Hockey Canada

Esso Women’s Nationals

Awards and honours

* Clarington Sports Hall of Fame inductee (2008) * NWHL Most Valuable Player, 2005 * 2014 CWHL Coach of the Year

Personal

Her father is Steve West, who played professional hockey in the 1970s for the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

and the Houston Aeros of the WHA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Sommer 1978 births American expatriates in Canada Canadian softball players Canadian women's ice hockey forwards Clarkson Cup champions Ice hockey people from Texas Living people Olympic softball players for Canada Softball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Houston Ice hockey people from Clarington American women's ice hockey forwards 20th-century American sportswomen 20th-century Canadian sportswomen