Girl’s Hockey Day

Mark Boyle

It was a great day for hockey -- Girls Hockey. On Saturday, October 1^st, a group of girls ages 10 to 14 participated in a Girls Only Learn to Play Hockey program at Blade Runners in Warrendale, hosted by the North Pittsburgh Wildcats.

This was a one-day practice that gave girls who had never played on a team before the chance to see what ice hockey is all about. For those who had played before, this was a day to show off their skills and have fun.

“It’s an initiative to get girls in the game,” Donna Ledwin, coordinator of Girls Hockey, said. “We’re trying to do our part and grow the game for the girls.”

The players lined up on the goal line as their instructor set off towards the other end of the ice.

“Glide with your left foot,” she said, her voice echoing throughout the rink.

The skaters followed her lead as each girl glided down the ice using only her left foot to move, keeping the right one pointed straight ahead. They repeated this exercise a few times before they incorporated both feet to get a feel of how to skate down the ice.

Some of the athletes were excelling at this, but those who were struggling had help from older, experienced hockey players.

These experienced players demonstrated how to quickly come to a stop by turning their heels out, something the younger players were eager to try.

As the hour went on, the girls got faster and more confident as they propelled down the ice, getting ready to work on their puck handling. They skated down the ice in pairs, practicing their passing to one another.

But now that the drills were over, the real fun began as the girls got the chance to partake in cross ice game.

“It was fun,” Megan McDermott, a 12-year-old skater, said. “I liked that we got to play games, and it was all girls.”

To end the day, the girls lined up in the neutral zone and one by one took off towards the opposite end of the ice where an instructor stood with his hands on the glass, giving the girls just enough space to slide under him. The first girl to slide under then got up and stood next to the instructor, putting her hands on the glass, making a tunnel that the next girl would have to slide through.

This was McDermott’s favorite part of the day, and it was clear from the others’ reactions and cheers that this was a great way to end practice.

“We’d love to see the girls at our tryouts,” Ledwin said. “We want to get them in the game.”

And it is a fast-moving game, which is enticing to a lot of players.

“What I like best about hockey is that it doesn’t take forever,” McDermott said. “It’s not like softball. You get more playing time.”