Mississauga, ON – Jessica Frame pulls more than double duty with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Her business card should at least read: equipment manager and trainer.
There’s more.
Jessica, 35, has been named trainer of the year by the OJHL.
“Jess has been an integral part of our team this season,” said Sabres general manager Charlie Mendola. “As our athletic trainer and equipment manager, her talents and expertise have helped our players be prepared each and every ice session.
“From off-ice Joga recovery sessions to ensuring continuity of care for injuries, Jess provides us a tremendous level of support. We are very excited that she has been recognized by the OJHL for her work.”
Joga?
It’s a movement system created for athletes that combines the breath and relaxation techniques of yoga and the science and biomechanics of sport.
Frame moved to Buffalo two years ago.
She is a certified athletic trainer with a master’s degree in health and human performance from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and six years of comprehensive sports medicine care with the University of Alabama ACHA D1 men’s hockey team and Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center.
She moved to Buffalo to work as a physician extender at UBMD Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine – doctors to the NFL Bills and NHL Sabres – and as the Athletic Development Coordinator for the Junior Sabres. That’s part of the “more”.
“I love Buffalo,” said the native of Georgia. “In spite of the fact, it’s 75 and sunny back home!”
She lives in a unit in what was a downtown factory. And she’s a big fan of the Buffalo renaissance, including its massive entertainment, dining and craft beer scene.
Plus, she can walk to work at the modern Harbor Center.
How does someone from football-mad Georgia come to work in hockey on the Canadian border?
Frame was a fan of the minor pro team in her home town of Macon.
So, when Alabama was looking for someone “and no one knew anything about hockey, I stepped in. It was trial by fire – I took a leap of faith.”
She received plenty of help from the school’s hockey-experienced coaching staff.
Same when she added Jr. Sabres equipment manager to her portfolio in September, a year after she became trainer. (She was already responsible for team laundry, travel and meals.)
Equipment experts with NCAA Division 1 Canisius College and the hockey academy that also skates on the Harbor Center rinks gave her a crash course.
“I just went ahead and sharpened about 60 pairs of skates and learned how to do it,” she said, admitting goalie skates were an additional challenge.
Personnel with opposing OJHL teams were also willing to help, she said appreciatively.
The former teacher enjoys working with the young men on the Jr. Sabres.
“They’re old enough that you can share a joke with them and have fun,” she said. “But they’re still impressionable and they want to get to the next level. It’s a great age group to work with.”
Frame already knew Ontario. She became friends with a St. Thomas family whose son played in Macon and made the trip north for a visit 11 years in a row.
“I love Ontario – the cottages, the hockey,” she said. “I told people I wanted to come (to Canada) but Buffalo is close.”
Jen Mark of the Newmarket Hurricanes is runner-up trainer of the year. The lead medical for Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games for field hockey has also worked with the York Simcoe Express minor hockey program, York University’s track and volleyball teams and the Stouffville Spirit of the OJHL. She’s a former director with the Ontario Athletic Therapist Association.
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About the OJHL – “League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 22 member clubs. A proud member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including the CIS, NCAA, CHL, Minor Pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL had more than 135 commitments in 2016-17, including 52 NCAA Division I scholarships.
