I Dare You to Give Hockey a Try!
After fifteen years of being a dancer in various performing divisions, competition arenas, and for international travel, I shocked my family and friends by taking up ice-hockey when I went off to college. (I’ve posted a hockey journal on “Kari’s Couch.”) I went to the east coast to experience hockey, but the sport is alive and well here in the Silicon Valley through the Northern California Womens’ Hockey League (NCWHL!)
Every year the NCWHL sponsors “Give Hockey a Try Day.”This year’s event is coming up fast on August 18th at the Belmont Iceland. This is an opportunity for women aged 13+ to experience hockey. No equipment is necessary; it will be provided. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to hold a stick, or would rather duck than actually hit a puck.
For the most adventurous, you can try strapping on all the goalie gear to see what it feels like to have pucks flying at you. I was a goalie once during a co-ed intramural game. I had a shutout for two periods, but then some slick guy pounded me with a slapshot. Ah well.
Ice-hockey is fabulous exercise and an amazing stress-buster. It can be hard work, but the reward is worth it. Chicks with sticks are a tough force to be reckoned with, even if you are ordinarily mild-mannered or a perfectly delicate ballerina to the outside world.
Most of all, I enjoy playing ice-hockey to show my sons that women can excel in sports, too. In fact, Husband doesn’t skate, much less play. Of course, since Husband is usually the one who cooks, I think my boys might think that females are the athletes and males are the chefs. That is fine by me!
For great exercise, teamwork, and accomplishing something you might otherwise doubt you could do, consider giving hockey a try! Email ncwhl@yahoo.com to register or to ask questions.
