At her press conference following the first Montreal Victoire exhibition game this season at the Verdun Auditorium, head coach Kori Cheverie opened the proceedings by saying to a packed room of journalists: “Bonjour tout le monde.”
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The rest of the press conference was mostly in English, though a couple of journalists asked their questions en français, and at one point Cheverie asked people how to say “we’ll see” in the language of Lafleur. “On verra,” one journalist told her.
Cheverie does sometimes answer questions in French and has done full interviews in the language spoken by most Quebecers.
In an interview at the Verdun Auditorium during the PWHL team’s training camp recently, the 37-year-old — originally from New Glasgow, N.S. — said she feels it’s very important for her to learn French. There was some initial grumbling in franco circles when the women’s team hired a coach who wasn’t bilingual, but she’s made major progress after just a year in Montreal.
In contrast, most Montreal Canadiens players who are not Québécois have been much slower to learn French. Cheverie’s ability to pick up French on the job also puts a new spin on the debate about whether the coach of the Canadiens has to be bilingual. What if the Habs were to hire a unilingual anglo coach who would then, like Cheverie, quickly learn French?
Cheverie said she hears from fans and they appreciate that she’s put in the work to be able to speak to francophone Quebecers in their language.
“People come up to me if they see me at the airport or the mall or wherever it may be and thank me for my effort and it does not go unnoticed (by me),” said Cheverie. “I really appreciate that because it has been really challenging to coach a pro team and learn a language at the same time. But it’s something that I’m proud of. For me, one of my biggest strengths would be my work ethic. I know I’m always going to outwork the next person. That’s why I am where I am today.”
Cheverie took French courses through high school but she hasn’t used the language much since so it was almost like starting over from scratch.
“I was starting at the bare bones,” said Cheverie. “It was challenging. On game days, I’m thinking about hockey but I’m also thinking about French. I have to speak to the media and I want to impress. I want to show respect. I want to be a good role model for my players. I ask them to do hard things all the time so the least I can do is learn a language and do something that is out of my comfort zone.”
She has been working closely with a French teacher and her prof sometimes even comes to events with Cheverie to see how the coach is doing in her second language.
When it comes to full interviews in French, “it’s a lot of work,” she acknowledged. “Hopefully the interviewer speaks a little more slowly for me.”
And she gets a little help from her francophone players.
“The French players here, I said, ‘Practise with me, let’s work on this together,’” said Cheverie. “If they want to. They don’t have to.”
Cheverie feels she owes it to her fans.
“I think living here, it’s a privilege to be in Montreal and to be in Quebec and to coach this team and be part of this organization, and I saw how important it was — the media, the fans wanting a francophone coach,” she said. “I wanted to do it for myself but I also wanted to give them someone they could be proud of.”
