Abbey Mott

My name is Abbey Mott, and people call me Bear. I was born in Xiamen, Fujian, China. My interests outside of being a student of hockey include playing lacrosse and saxophone when I am not refereeing hockey, too. Last season, I had the great experience of being Captain of my hockey team, working with a great coach to lead our girls to embrace team values while supporting each other to be our best selves to grow and contribute together. I was selected to play in our league’s All Star Game; I had a blast working with the best girls I had competed against so many times, and was honoured to be selected Player of the Game. The highlight at the end of last season was Victus Academy West Head of Academics (and #41 playing for PWHL Toronto’s inaugural season!) Brittney Howard invited me to work with her as a coach in the last week-long hockey camp she ran in Ontario before moving into her new role as 16U & 19U Girls Head Coach, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Hockey–it was an incredible introduction to coaching and giving back for youth sport.

I am fortunate to play girls field lacrosse in the Six Nations of the Grand River organization with incredible coaches, like Lyle Thompson, who teach and live the values of the Creator’s Game and families with great spirit committed to their daughters’ growing to understand community leadership through collaboration on the field. Our teams are always special, we worked hard for each other to win Gold in the Provincials for the 2 years I have been with them. In 2024, I started playing box lacrosse, too. It is a whole new world and awesome, too – Six Nay All the Way! I intend to play for the Chinese National Lacrosse team in International events as a member of both women’s field and box.

As a Grade 8 student of Victus Academy West, the Head of Lord Dorchester Secondary School’s Music Program, invited me to play alto saxophone in the stage band. It was a wonderful new perspective on taking responsibility to learn to play a part and bring your best to collaborate in practice and performances with a group of really dedicated peers.

I am loving Grade 9. It’s my first year in Victus Academy where I have an incredible opportunity to grow as a person with ambitious, hard-working, and team-spirited peers who respect each other and honestly celebrate and support each other developing as elite hockey players and our successes in the classroom. And, finally, I am living a dream I’ve held since I started playing ball hockey as a 7-year-old, I earned my stripes! I absolutely love being a referee with the responsibility and opportunity to ensure kids a safe, fair, and fun environment to play and LOVE the greatest game in the world! I love my hockey journey, and this year I can’t wait to get out of bed every morning, because I know I am part of a great school giving me every opportunity and support to get 1% better every day.

ACADEMIC GOALS

I am curious, so I love learning and experiencing new things that expand my worldview. I am especially interested in deepening my knowledge of the world of animals and how we can interact more collaboratively with them. I am determined to push myself academically, because I need to study animal science in university. My Victus Academy goal is to work hard to earn grades of 90% or more in every course. My top priority as a student athlete is to be an elite student, so I build a great foundation to grow as the best teammate and player I can contribute as an athlete.

ATHLETIC GOALS

In hockey, I will continue to earn recognition as a hard-working, smart, aggressive defender who contributes on offence with deadly passes and killer snipes. The D-zone is Bear Territory. I am determined that no one will enjoy time and space in my territory; there will be no easy paths to the net, shots are made for blocking and the front of the net is a world of frustration and hurt. On top of that, the Victus S&C coaches support me to know I can continue winning at least 75% of 50-50 open-ice and board battles whoever I’m playing against. In 2025, I plan to earn a spot in the roster of a top women’s junior team, and put in the work to climb the ladder in their D-corps.

I am working to play lacrosse in the World’s and 2028 Olympics in Team China. Representing my birth country will certainly make my mom’s family proud. And, it will be a chance to honour my coaches and the lacrosse families of Six Nations by helping teammates appreciate the opportunity we have playing the Creator’s Game. And, I’ve got great support at Victus to practice through the off-season, so I will be in great shape to start playing 6’s and earn a place in the Team Ontario box team.

Long-term, I will earn the chance to play NCAA hockey and lacrosse for 4 years at a leading school in Animal Science to prepare for advanced study in the field of Animal Neurology.