Stacey Colarossi knew, from the moment that she received the call confirming her selection to the coaching staff of the Team China women’s hockey entry to the 2022 Winter Olympics, that the current environment in which we live might lead to an experience that would cut both ways.

Tasked with preparing the host team for these pandemically-inclined Games was not likely to constitute nothing but a bed of roses.

Three weeks removed from her/their final game in Beijing, where China came ever so painstakingly close to securing a quarter-final berth, the only coach that the Laurentian Voyageurs’ women’s program ever knew has not deviated at all from that mindset.

“There were moments that were harder than I ever imagined, and there were moments that were more rewarding than I ever imagined they would be,” said Colarossi recently, decked out in her spiffy Chinese national winter coat, one of the many perks of the job.

Still, eight months away from her partner (Sarah Forbes) and their eight year old daughter (Rylan) is no small sacrifice; which is not to say that Colarossi would not do it all over again, in a heartbeat, if given the opportunity to do so.

“Professionally and personally, I probably got more out of the experience than I anticipated I would,” stated the 46 year-old woman who assisted Team China head coach Brian Idalski for a stretch that dated back to the summer of 2021. “Preparing for an Olympics is hard. Being away from family is difficult – but it’s 100% worth it, because I’m now an Olympic coach and no one can ever take that from you.”

As anyone who has lived the Games can attest, the Olympic experience is an all-encompassing one, replete with memories that extend well beyond the field of play. When it came to the task at hand, however, Colarossi and company emerged generally pleased, overall, with a job well done, coming within a cross-bar in the final round robin game of advancing to the final eight.

Victories over both Denmark (3-1) and Japan (2-1 in a shootout) arguably surpassed the expectations of the hockey world for Team China, even if those at the helm of the squad felt very comfortable with the preparation that was done in anticipation of serving as host team last month.

“We worked very hard at the tactics of the game so that they understood how to play as a five-man unit,” said Colarossi. “Up to that point, a lot of them (our players) were a one-man show and there was no way that we were going to have any success trying to play one on one.”

“We had to do a lot of video teaching and education on how to play off the puck,” she added. “Chinese athletes don’t like a lot of physical contact, so they learned how to approach one on one battles on the wall, breaking it down with body positioning and hand positioning and how to go in with your stick, being stick on stick.”

“I really worked with that pretty diligently.”

Throw in the timely return from injuries for the trio of Kim Newell (starting netminder), Yu Baiwei (team captain) and minute-munching defenceman Jessica Wong and the team that spent from September to January participating in league play in Russia was suddenly feeling more than a little okay about their chances.

“Inserting those three players into the lineup really gave the team a boost,” said Colarossi. “They all carry a presence about them. That carried everyone along; it was such a good energy. And then after that first win against Denmark, it felt like the start of something special.”

Special, yes, albeit it in an entirely different way than the shivers that still run down her spine as Colarossi takes herself back to the entrance of Team China into the National Stadium on the evening of Opening Ceremonies. “Don’t get me wrong – I would 100% love to walk in with the maple leaf on my back – but as the host country, it was exceptional,” she suggested.

“People were chanting, singing the national anthem. You start walking in, seeing the lights, but there was no sound on the ground that you could really hear. But the people dancing on the floor, in unison, you could feel it in your chest; you could feel the energy in your body.”

“That was a really cool moment.”

By the time the Games started, Colarossi was already nicely acclimatized, comfortable that she had built the necessary rapport to coax a nice solid effort from her hard working team. “I was fortunate to have two full months in Beijing with the girls (July/August – 2021),” she said. “I got to build some relationships.”

“Senior administration (Chinese Ice Hockey Association) was around. I got to meet them and start to understand their wants, their level of discipline, their culture, before we left for Russia. For two months, I was 100% immersed in the Chinese culture. I learned a lot of Chinese, loved learning the language.”

“It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you speak, it’s still hard.”

Even as the world now looks on in disbelief at the events unfolding not all that far from where Colarossi called home much of this winter, she remains thankful for the time she spent there. “The ability to play in that Russian league and travel to all of these cities with such history was special,” she noted.

“I’ve never really had a huge interest in history, and now I’m like, I need to know more.”

In fact, it’s fair to say, moving forward, that Colarossi is looking at the world of women’s hockey, the environment she so loves, through a much more global lens these days. “You always want to work on developing in your own country, but I have certainly gotten a different perspective on developing internationally,” she acknowledged.

“If we don’t continue to grow below one and two (Canada and the United States), what will our sport become?”

“I’ve been back three weeks now and there have been some interesting phone calls. I’m keeping my options open.”

For as much as there might be pros and cons to the doors that open outside of Canada, these life experiences are somewhat irreplaceable.