Hallie Eggie is a cerebral running back for the Manitoba Fearless of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League.
In her spare time, Eggie — an assistant coach for the Manitoba Bisons football team — takes great pride in crushing 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles in the span of a day.
“My God, yeah, I like puzzling,” says Eggie, a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaching staff during training camp as part of the Women in Football program, presented by KPMG.
“I don’t have time for it at the moment, but yeah, if I start something, I like to finish it. I’ll stay up late if I have to.”
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These days, Eggie, 36, is up late every night and awake at the crack of dawn to soak up every moment of her Canadian Football League experience.
As for her brain power? That’s laser-focused on the puzzle pieces that make up the potent Bomber offence — all the while learning from some of the best in the coaching business.
“I’m working with coach Andre Bolduc, and he is just a super welcoming and supportive person,” says Eggie, who majored in marketing and human resources at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. “I’m learning incredible amounts of information at a rapid pace.
“And it’s so evident that coach Mike O’Shea, he cares, and it’s very evident that Winnipeg is a desirable club for players and staff alike. Just being in the middle of it, I can see why people want to get here.”
By “here”, Eggie means Princess Auto Stadium — home to O’Shea, Zach Collaros, Nic Demski and Co.
“The men, the players, they’re incredibly respectful,” Eggie says. “The days are super long for them, too. And I’m in awe of, you know, their grit and hard work that they put in, day in and day out.”
Eggie made history last year as the first female football coach at the University of Manitoba. She fit in from the start, even in what Brian Dobie jokingly calls the snake pit — otherwise known as the coaches’ room.
“There’s a lot of one-liners,” says Dobie, who retired last year as head coach of the Bisons. “You’ve got to have thick skin.
“Hallie is intelligent. She’s tough. She gives it right back. She has great perspective.”
Hallie Eggie is participating in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp as part of the Women in Football Program presented by KPMG (Cameron Bartlett/BlueBombers.com)
Diverse perspectives are a major impetus for the Women in Football program, presented by KPMG. In this, the fourth year of the program, the nine CFL clubs are each welcoming one woman to join their football operations department for approximately four weeks.
The program benefits run both ways. The women offer their insights and unique skill sets while also gaining invaluable experience along their football and professional journeys.
“Now, here Hallie is at Bomber training camp,” Dobie says. “How much more is she learning, right? You can’t buy that experience. You can only experience it,
“And Hallie was really chomping at the bit to be accepted into this program. She wanted it badly.”
Badly is an understatement. Like a running back with her head down, chugging toward the end zone, Eggie set out to achieve a goal — and she did it.
In camp, Eggie is helping coach the running backs — including Brady Oliveira, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian in 2024.
“He’s a star,” says Eggie, who works in administration for the federal government. “He has a really great handle on the playbook. He’s an awesome resource for everyone involved. He’s definitely someone that brings a ton of experience and definitely makes coaching a little bit easier.”
Eggie loves coaching — she heaps praise on Dobie and the Bisons for opening a door previously closed to so many women. But she’s also driven to become a better running back herself.
Her dream? To represent Canada on the international stage at the next IFAF Women’s World Championships — just like she did back in 2022 in Finland.
“If I play better, I’m going to have better tools to coach,” she says. “If I coach better, I can connect more dots when I’m playing.
“When those connections happen — and you understand why you’re doing something, and then it works — It’s kind of a thing of beauty.”
Just like snapping in the final piece of a puzzle.
