oday’s hockey programs are
attracting a diverse group of
young players and families,
and as more girls’ programs
emerge and players join
from a variety of ethnic
backgrounds, the future of hockey below the
Mason-Dixon Line continues to get brighter.

Throughout the last decade, big changes
have been made in hockey — especially
for girls. Joanna Nagle, an under-14 girls’
team coach for the Baltimore Stars, a youth
hockey program, has been playing hockey
for the past 16 years. When she was growing
up, there weren’t many teams or clubs for
her and her friends. Now she is amazed by
how many girls’ programs are thriving.

“These new programs give girls the ability
to build a little more camaraderie, and
they are able to have fun and just be girls,”
Nagle says. “It’s been amazing just to see
how many girls’ programs have started up
and continue to change the stereotype that
hockey is a male-dominated sport.”
“It’s been amazing just
to see how many girls’
programs have started up
and continue to change
the stereotype
that hockey is a
male-dominated sport.”
— JOANNA NAGLE
To understand the sport’s new popularity,
consider that this summer, Nagle will be one
of two coaches who will host “Girls Night Out”
skates for hockey players each month, from
May to August, at the Reisterstown Sportsplex.

Not only is hockey growing, but like lacrosse, it
is becoming year-round.

After Team USA won the women’s ice
hockey gold medal at the 2018 Winter
Olympics in South Korea, little girls all
around the country had an increased interest
in learning to play this competitive icy sport.

“The Olympic victory has encouraged girls
to shoot for the stars,” says Megan Donahue,
head coach of the under-12 girls’ team for
the Stars.

Donahue feels that the Olympic victory
not only inspires girls who play hockey,
but it also inspires young girls all over the
country to take a chance and try something
new. “They are able to look around and say,
‘Wow, that’s incredible, I see a girl who
looks just like me, and I want to play that
sport,’” she says. “That’s what all coaches
should support.”
ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS — ICE: ALXEYPNFEROV; PIGGY BANK: MALERAPASO
Also contributing to the growth of hockey
and diversity in both the men’s and women’s
game is Hockey is for Everyone, a National
Hockey League-run initiative in which the
main goal is to use the NHL’s platform and
influence to positively change and foster
more inclusive hockey communities.

One proud hockey mom is Jen
Zamchiya, an African-American, whose
11-year-old son, Taurai, plays for the Fort
Dupont Ice Hockey Club in Washington,
D.C. Zamchiya believes the Hockey is
for Everyone initiative has helped make
hockey a more diverse and inclusive sport.

“Teams are encouraged to help make
hockey accessible and affordable to groups
who have traditionally shied away from
the sport because of the ‘we don’t do that’
attitudes and expenses,” Zamchiya says.

“[The initiative] has helped break down
those barriers through the donation of
equipment, funds for ice time and free or
low-cost introduction to hockey clinics.”
As a result, teams are more diverse than
ever before. Donahue says she is proud
to coach a team filled with players from
different racial backgrounds.

Nagle agrees. “To be able to see different
races on the Stars and on the different
teams we play has been really impressive
and really inspiring.”
Hockey also teaches young players, boys
and girls, the importance of teamwork,
setting goals and having fun. It gives
them opportunities to play with players
of different skill levels and learn how to
succeed as a team.

Each time Zamchiya’s son steps foot on
the ice he practices different techniques. “He
learns something new each time,” she says,
and he loves it.

Nagle has seen hockey give her players
heightened levels of self-esteem as well
as new friendships. “It instills so much
confidence in the girls,” she says. “They are
out there every day trying to learn a whole
new way of mobility, and this confidence is
built from meeting new girls who are learning
this new sport that is crazy and awesome.”
To all the young girls and boys who want
to play hockey or any other new sport, Nagle
says, “just try it. You won’t know the rush
and the fun and the camaraderie that comes
with it until you just take the plunge.” ■
Adranisha Stephens contributed
to this story.

$uit Up!
IN 2018, THERE WAS A RECORD NUMBER OF 562,145 KIDS
PLAYING ICE HOCKEY, according to USA Hockey, which
oversees youth hockey in this country. Be warned the cost of
participating comes with an expensive price tag, and there
are more equipment requirements for children than adults
who play the sport. Hockey parents often trade tips on where
to find sales or quality used equipment. But top to bottom, it
can still add up:
$99 $15-
$35 Helmet
Pants $25-
$ 50
$ 20
Chest pad
Shin guards
$20 $15
Elbow pads
Socks $30
$ 50
Gloves Skates
$35 Stick
$3-$4 ro l l
Tape $25-
$ 50
Bag $15
Febreze spray
and drier sheets
(which you WILL want)
Sources: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Pure Hockey, HockeyMonkey, Target and Amazon
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