7 Reasons Why Fort Collins Needs a Girls Hockey Program
From frozen mountain lakes, ponds and perfectly smooth ice rinks everywhere, Coloradoans love hockey. Fort Collins needs a girls hockey program, and here’s why.
- Hockey is the best sport. Period. What other sport requires all the skill, work ethic and hand-eye coordination of other team sports WHILE balancing on blades of steel and sliding around a sheet of ice?
2. Hockey is sport that you can play at nearly any age, but it helps to start young. There are a number of adult women’s’ teams in Fort Collins made up relatively new skaters, and a common thing I hear is, “I wish I started this a long time ago!”
3. Hockey promotes a healthy body self-image. I’m not hating on these other activities, but too many young girls are told from coaches and mentors that what they look like is more important than how they feel or perform (I’m looking at you gymnastics, ballet and cheerleading). Nobody can look skinny or sexy in full hockey gear (those clunky pads are for protection, not fashion). So instead of worrying about how they look, girls can focus on more important things like being fast, strong and nailing that bar-down snap shot.
4. Hockey promotes a healthy relationship with food. This point is closely related to the one above. It’s more important to be strong on the puck and have energy to last 3 grueling periods than worry about your waistline. If you don’t eat enough, you don’t play well. In playing hockey, girls learn to view food not as the enemy, but as a necessary (and delicious) tool to play their best game. Plus, pre-game pasta parties are the BEST.
5. Every “type” of girl can excel at hockey. Hockey players have a reputation for being tough tomboys, and some of us are. But wherever you fall on the spectrum of femininity, you can be good at hockey. I played with a teammate who earned herself the name Sparkle Girl, because off the ice she loved fashion, sparkles and wasn’t really that rough-and-tumble. But as soon as the puck dropped, whew was I glad we had sparkle power on our side. Nobody wanted to block her shots or battle with her in the corner because she was tough.
6. Celebrating is encouraged in hockey. It’s called a celly. Too often girls are told be quiet, humble and modest. There’s nothing wrong with these qualities but having them ingrained in your mind as the standard for behavior is detrimental to a young girls confidence because you’re not allowed to loudly and proudly celebrate your accomplishments. Not so in hockey, where the celly is almost as important as scoring.
7. There is now a national women’s hockey league! One thing that was hard for me growing up playing hockey, was knowing that no matter how hard I worked, I would never play pro hockey. Because there wasn’t a pro women’s league. Well, that issue has now been resolved and little girls can set their sights on the NWHL.
Let’s Play Hockey!
