IN THIS ISSUE



IIHF World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend


2016-17 Season May Set New High for Girls' Teams in NIHL


Sarah Chung Hopes to Find Gold in Rio


Lady Patriots Surge by Embracing Skill Development


Lady Crusaders Enjoying Rapid Growth


Estimated Probability of Competing in College Athletics


Growing the Game, Parity, and Catchphrases in Women's Hockey




Volume 1 Issue 3
September 12, 2016
IIHF WORLD GIRLS' ICE HOCKEY WEEKEND!
USA Hockey is looking for associations and rinks to host opportunities to build awareness, celebrate your current players and grow participation for girls' hockey as part of the IIHF World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend. To participate, there are four different events host sites can utilize.


Season Kick-Off Party: Collect all of the girls in your program, whether they play on coed or girls only teams, and have a pizza party/public skate. It is a great way to let the girls in your organization know that they are appreciated and allow them the chance to bond with other female hockey players.


Create an Original Event to Celebrate/Grow Girls Hockey: Invent a program to bring everyone together in your program or attract brand new girls to your association. Examples include: Pizza party, watch a movie, attend a Women's hockey game, etc.


Cross-Ice Jamboree: Invite neighboring programs to collect the girls in their coed programs and form teams for a fun cross-ice jamboree.


Try Hockey For Free: Host an opportunity for local girls to try youth hockey for the first time. You can utilize the girls already in your program to bring a friend to the rink.


CLICK HERE TO BECOME A HOST SITE!
ILLINOIS GIRLS' NEWS

2016-17 SEASON MAY SET NEW HIGH FOR GIRLS' TEAMS IN NIHL
By Ruben Medina ~ The forecast is for the number of Girls Division teams in NIHL to grow once again this season. The league will offer Girls Divisions at the Girls 10U, 12U, 14U and 16U/19U age levels. If you have the skills for Tier II Girls hockey, and you want to play on an all-girls team, please reach out to a nearby organization that will offer Girls teams at your age level this season. Click HERE for a table of the clubs that are offering NIHL Girls Hockey this season. READ MORE>>
CRYSTAL LAKE'S SARAH CHUNG HOPES TO FIND GOLD IN RIO
Chung, a member of the Chicago Blackhawks Blind Hockey team, will represent the U.S. in Paralympic Judo beginning September 10th.


Although Sarah only began competing in Judo just over a year and a half ago, she's already made quite a big impression in a short period of time. Through her work ethic and unquestioned dedication, Sarah is already ranked #1 in the United States and #8 in the world in the Female +70kg Paralympic division. FULL ARTICLE>>
GIRLS' HOCKEY ACROSS AMERICA

LADY PATRIOTS SURGE BY EMBRACING SKILL DEVELOPMENT
By Mike Scandura ~ When the Lady Patriots of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, added a 10U girls team last spring, parents almost broke down the doors at the Revolution Ice Gardens in Warminster to register their girls. "We've focused on the development of 10U players," President Paul Bardell said. "We're finding 10U players are very receptive to high-skills development practices. We create a fun environment where development comes as a result of the fun. FULL ARTICLE>>

LADY CRUSADERS ENJOYING
RAPID GROWTH
By Mike ScanduraWhen George Barrett couldn't find any opportunities for girls to play hockey in Worcester, Massachusetts, he founded one. The Lady Crusaders began play in 2012. "He saw the need and wanted to offer another option," said Program Director Debra Pond of Barrett, who now serves as association president. "He set it up with one team. Last year we had three teams but we went from three at the end of last season to 10 this season." FULL ARTICLE>>
COLLEGE HOCKEY NEWS

ESTIMATED PROBABILITY OF COMPETING IN COLLEGE ATHLETICS


In a recent study of the percentage of high school athletes that continue on in college, Women's Hockey ranked first among all sports. This tells us that the opportunity for girls to play beyond their high school or 19U years is abundant. The study does not include youth teams, so the percentage could be even higher. Neither does the study include American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) club college teams. With over 50 schools offering club teams, the chance to play college hockey is growing. In recent months we have seen 3 new Division III Women's college hockey teams form this year - Trine University (Angola, IN), Aurora University (Aurora, IL), and Wilkes University (Wilkes-Barre, PA), proving again the rapid growth of Women's College Hockey. READ MORE>>
GROWING THE GAME, PARITY, AND CATCHPHRASES IN
WOMEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY


Although the main focus of this article is Division I Women's College hockey, there are some extremely interesting observations throughout by University of Wisconsin Women's Head Coach, Mark Johnson and University of Minnesota Women's Head Coach, Brad Frost.


While both Frost and Johnson had positive things to say about what girls can learn from playing with boys' teams in their youth, Frost also mentioned the negative experiences of being isolated in other locker rooms and getting picked on. Most importantly, though, Johnson pointed out how little the talent level of players has changed, regardless of how they played as youths. "Certainly in the last six, seven, eight years, we've seen a lot more girls come into our programs that have played against only girls and we've yet to see a change in the skill level," said Johnson. FULL ARTICLE>>


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