By Hayley Wickenheiser, Hockey Now, August 29, 2011
A young girl heads through the doors of the local arena, stick and bag slung over her shoulder and heads down to the dressing rooms to gear up for the game. Thankfully, the question is no longer, ‘what is she doing there’ but rather ‘what team does she play for?’ Does she play on an all-girls team or does she hit the ice alongside the boys? It’s also a question you might be considering for your daughter as the start of the season nears. I went to the boy’s side of the game based on several factors, not the least of which was a simple circumstance of the lack of a girl’s team in my community. I don’t regret the decision to play with boys and later with men, as my experience was that it elevated my game in various ways. In fact, I often sought out men’s teams as I went further in my career in order to hone certain aspects of my game. However, many girls these days head directly into the girls dressing rooms without much thought about playing with boys. I am happy that today it is an option for young girls coming into the game to do either, but it is precisely that – an option – a decision to made with many factors to consider. (Read more…)