Growing up, Michigan State University senior Mackenzie Smith did not want to take dance classes like most of the girls her age. Her heart was set on a pair of skates. “I started hockey when I was four,” 21-year-old Smith explains. “I insisted on quitting dance and learning to play hockey to be like my brother.”
That passion is what has continued Smith’s journey on the Michigan State Women’s Ice Hockey team for four years. I’m aware one of your next questions will be, “Michigan State has a women’s ice hockey team?” The answer is yes. Two MSU teams compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association and play teams from all across the Midwest.
Now, obviously hockey is a male-dominated sport. That’s true. What’s not true is the belief that women who play hockey are incapable of competing as well as boys.
Michigan State University student Colleen Skelton believes there are many negative stereotypes towards women who play hockey because it’s less known. “It is true that more boys play, but in no way is it a sport only for males. People perhaps think this because it appears to be “rough,” which does not align with the old fashioned, stereotypical characteristics of a female.”
Although this stereotype is slowly diminishing and many organizations around the nation are beginning to adopt girls and women’s teams, there are noticeably less opportunities for girls.
“My own hometown doesn’t even have any girls-only hockey teams available,” Smith explains. “I think that really discourages some girls from trying out and some parents from letting their daughters go further.”
Skelton, who is majoring in Education, agrees. “There are way more male-centered leagues and less chances for girls to play in competitive leagues like boys.”
So then why do girls choose to play hockey? Many people ask this question and wonder what the motivation really is for a girl if there are fewer opportunities. To many girls, the answer is simple.
“The freedom you feel while playing is unlike any other feeling. The wind in your face as you break up the ice cannot be explained by words,” Smith, a Jackson, Mich. native, says. “Hockey just creates irreplaceable feelings and emotions and bonds that nothing can match up to it.”
Skelton, a senior at MSU, explains it as simply as possible, “I love the feeling that comes with skating. When I step on the ice, nothing else matters.”
Skelton and Smith have played together for four years on the Michigan State Women’s ice hockey team. Between being full-time students, holding part-time jobs and maintaining their social lives, you may think that having hockey five or six days out of the week would be too much, but that’s not the case.
“I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to continue my competitive hockey career through college,” Skelton, a Royal Oak, Mich. native, describes. “While it has taken up many of my weekends, I would not change my playing these past four years for anything.”
Hockey is a continuously growing sport across the country. Although girls and women do not have a professional league available to them, the opportunities are growing. Skelton believes any girl who has the opportunity to play should do it.
“I would encourage other girls to play because it honestly has been the best part of my life and every girl should get the opportunity to feel what it feels like to skate down the ice.”