Let's face it. At times, it was tough playing a male-dominated sport. But we pushed through. We fought back. We made it normal for girls to play hockey. Of course, we all had a slightly different experience. But regardless of that experience, most of us know these 10 things to be true.
1. When you first started playing as a kid, you were told, "But girls don't play hockey!"
This is especially relevant for those of us who started playing before girls' leagues existed. I still remember the boys who said it to me. I remember their names, their faces, where we were when they said it, and the way my heart sunk every time. As a young, impressionable second grader, this was devastating to me. I loved playing hockey, and I got pretty good during that first year with the boys. I was even better than a lot of them by the end of the season! But none of that seemed to matter when I was constantly being told, "Girls don't play hockey!"
2. You couldn't have fake nails. Ever.
Because they just wouldn't fit into your gloves. Or if they did, they'd get ripped off somehow while you were on the ice. And this wasn't just during hockey season; this was all year. Because for a lot of us, hockey season never ended. We played all year long. I admit, I wasn't as big into the nail thing, so this wasn't much of a concern for me. But I remember this being pretty problematic for some of my teammates.
3. People were constantly saying, "You play hockey? You don't look like you play hockey..."
Well, what am I supposed to look like? A boy...?
4. You smelled absolutely awful after putting your gear on.
Hockey is famous for the horrific, gag-inducing smell that lingers on equipment and the bodies that wear that equipment. And it's not just the guys who smell bad. I am the first to admit that we smell just as bad. Honestly, I bet you could have put on your equipment and taken it off right away and you would still smell horrible even though you didn't break a sweat. I think it's safe to say we're all familiar with the ferocious scrubbing of knees and elbows that is required to tame the smell.
5. You've punched someone before. And it felt good.
Put 35 extremely competitive women out on the ice, and you're bound to have some scrums. So you've probably let your fists fly a couple of times. And wow, did it feel good. Of course, if you got a penalty you probably regretted it a little bit. But a small part of you was always happy you did it.
6. You had no chirping game. Most of the time.
You probably reused the same two curse words over and over again because you didn't know what else to say. But every once in a while, a brilliant line would roll off your tongue. Those were always good days.
7. You got frustrated because people didn't take you (or women's hockey, in general) seriously.
There is nothing more annoying. My college team was once kicked off the ice early so that a boys' high school JV team could skate. What a low blow. Not to mention, a lot of referees probably told you to smile more or cracked stupid jokes or simply didn't pay attention to the play. Would that have happened in a men's game? Probably not. Sigh...
8. Your sexuality was probably questioned at one point or another.
Women's hockey is one of the sports where it's expected that if you participate you're probably gay or bisexual. Obviously, this is untrue, but it really shouldn't matter anyway.
9. When you got on the ice before practice, there were usually a few clusters of girls skating around, just talking.
Of course, once practice started, everyone stopped talking so much. But for those first few minutes, while half of the team shot on the nets and worked on stickhandling, the other half caught up on each other's lives and finished conversations that had been started in the locker room. We've all been both types of people—it really just depends on the day.
10. Your teammates were like your sisters.
You saw them almost every day. You went on long road trips with them, stayed in hotel rooms with them, spent hours on the bus with them, ate with them, joked with them... I could go on. That's why you probably got so aggressive and started punching people on the ice sometimes! Because no one messes with your sisters... No one messes with your family.
