Growth of women's hockey gives girls in Colorado more opportunities to get in the game
More young girls are lacing up their skates -- their hockey skates, that is.
"They'll get on the ice and somehow just come alive," said Tyson Davis, head coach of the 16U AA Hyland Hills Jaguars.
With the expansion of the Professional Women's Hockey League and other women's leagues, girls like Surrey Schumacher are seeing more opportunities to get on the ice. Schumacher grew up playing hockey.
"I started in boys-only hockey when I was six," she said. "I was around nine or 10 when the first girls' team at Hyland came back."
Hyland Hills' hockey program had a girls' team in the past, but it was disbanded due to low numbers. Now, it's back, and Davis believes the team is here to stay.
"We had 124 girls play last year and the year before, and there are more coming in. You used to always see figure skaters, and now a lot of these girls are on hockey skates," he said.
If asked, both Davis and Schumacher will say the team is not just for learning about faceoffs or defensive skills.
"It's helped me grow to be organized and timely and make sure everyone is always included," Schumacher said.
It's about life skills and learning how to face adversity, because the game of hockey is not easy.
"Statistically, there's about 160 mistakes per team, per game," Davis said.
In addition to those skills, they say it's about building a community.
"I love the community and the family," Schumacher said, "I walk through here, I know so many familiar faces, even when I'm not here, I'll be in a different state and be like, 'Oh my goodness, another Hyland person."
As both women's hockey and the Hyland family grow, so do the possibilities for young girls looking to get into the sport.
"When they can see that other girls play the same sport, boy, do they come to life," Davis said. "We've watched the girls play Canada versus the U.S., and we'll take them to that game, and it's fun. They all of a sudden have role models and they're inspired, and they go, 'Wow, I can do this when I'm older?' Yeah, you can."
Members of the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association will be attending Girls in the Game on Aug. 16 on the DU campus.
