(Photo courtesy of PU’s Office of Athletic Communications) caption: MOREY STORY: Cara Morey is all smiles as she joins the coaching staff of the Princeton University women’s hockey program. Morey, a former ice hockey and field hockey standout at Brown University, played for Canada’s U-22 women’s ice hockey team after graduation. She also coached at the Thayer Academy, Robert Morris, and most recently with the Phoenix Lady Coyotes U-19 AAA team in addition to raising three daughters as her husband, Sean Morey, made three stops in his nine-year NFL career.

After Starring at Brown and Turning Focus to Family, Morey Excited to Join Tiger Women’s Hockey Staff

Bill Alden

Coming from a small town in Ontario, Cara Morey didn’t appear to be on track for athletic stardom at an Ivy League school.

“When I was 17, I joined the London (Ontario) Devilettes; it was my first girls’ hockey team; I had never heard of college hockey,” said Morey, nee Gardner, who hails from Hensall, population of around 1,000 and had played several sports in high school including boys’ ice hockey, field hockey, soccer, softball, volleyball, rugby, track and ringette, a girls version of hockey with cutdown sticks and rings instead of pucks.

While playing for the Devilettes, Morey had an encounter that changed the course of her life.

“Some crazy lady came up to me at a tournament when I was on the Devilettes and said ‘you want to play hockey at Brown,’ ” recalled Morey.

“I said ‘no I wanted to play at Harvard or Princeton’ because those were the only U.S. schools I had heard of other than big colleges like Michigan. I was from a small town; I didn’t know about that stuff.”

That “crazy lady” at the rink turned out to be longtime Brown women’s hockey coach Digit Murphy and Morey ended up joining the Bears and becoming one of the most decorated women’s athletes in school history.

Morey earned All-Ivy and All-America honors in both ice hockey and field hockey, receiving the Bessie H. Rudd Award, which is given to the female varsity athlete that has done the most to promote female athletics through spirit, enthusiasm, and leadership. She also represented Brown at the NCAA Leadership Conference in 2000.

After graduating from Brown in 2001, Morey played for Canada’s U-22 women’s ice hockey team with an eye to playing in the Olympics. But after breaking her femur and marrying Brown football star and NFL performer Sean Morey, her focus turned to family as the couple had three daughters.

But with her husband recently retiring from the NFL after nine seasons, Morey is now looking to help others enjoy the Ivy experience as she has joined the staff of the Princeton women’s hockey program as an assistant coach.

Although she harbored dreams of returning to women’s professional hockey after stints with the Montreal Wingstars and the Brampton Thunder of the NWHL, Morey had the feeling that she would someday get into college coaching.

“I always knew I would coach,” said Morey, who spent a year teaching and coaching hockey, field hockey and softball at Thayer Academy, worked with Robert Morris, and most recently coached the Phoenix Lady Coyotes U-19 AAA team.

“I helped coach the JV team at Brown when they brought that team in. I coached at McGill when I was playing in the pros. In every city I was in, I was looking to teach and coach. In Arizona, I couldn’t find hockey at first so I did a ‘Girls on the Run’ program.”

Morey’s transformative experience at Brown sparked her desire to coach at a place like Princeton.

“I was so happy to be there; I learned how to balance things in my life,” said Morey, reflecting on her Brown career.

“I learned to think on my own and became well-rounded. I couldn’t understand how I had gotten there from Ontario; it was a gift and I almost felt guilty. It makes me want to get other girls to have that kind of experience; it was the best thing I ever did. I want to pass that on to others.”

Morey enjoyed the experience of seeing her husband, a record-breaking receiver at Brown, carve out a successful NFL career which included a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006 and a Pro Bowl appearance.

“It was a crazy enjoyable life; it was like being at summer camp for 10 years,” said Morey of the family’s NFL stops which included the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals in addition to the Steelers.

“It was awesome to see Sean succeed. I kind of resented that I didn’t have the chance to pursue hockey but I started to feel like I was part of his teams. That was especially true in the year that the Steelers won the Super Bowl; we knew all the other players and their families.”

While Morey started looking for coaching opportunities after her husband left football, she was selective.

“I said that I would only coach at a place like Boston College or Princeton,” said Morey. “It had to be a good place to raise a family and a school that I believe in where I share the same values. I didn’t want to go to a hockey factory.”

The hockey gods smiled on Morey as a position at Princeton became available with the exit of assistant Jessica Link.

“I thought nothing was going to open up at Princeton with Amy [Bourbeau] there 12 years and Jess [Link] five years,” said Morey, referring to the Tiger assistant coaches.

“Digit called me and said I have got to call Jeff [Kampersal]. I came down right before reunions. It was awesome; I think I had seven people interview me, including the team captains. The more people I talked to, the more I wanted to do the job.”

Princeton head coach Kampersal, for his part, was happy to add Morey to his team.

“We got extremely lucky that she was available,” said Kampersal, noting that Morey has been promoted to first assistant with Bourbeau heading to Brown to take the head coaching job there.

“Cara had three interviews with different people and she knocked it out of the park. She is an energy giver; she is very passionate. She has already helped our recruiting in Canada. She has a very positive outlook and is hungry to succeed. I think our kids are going to love her.”

With the school year around the corner, Morey is hungry to start working with the Princeton kids.

“I love sport but it has to fit in with other things,” said Morey, who earned a Master’s of Education from Arizona State in 2010.

“Education is first for these girls, they are not going to be playing in the NHL. I had a similar experience; I know what’s important for these young women. If we can enhance their experience, that is great. I am so excited to get on the ice. I am so excited to go to the office everyday. I can’t wait for the kids to come to school. I enjoy helping other people succeed more than I do playing.”

Return to Previous Sports Story | Return to Top | Go to Calendar