DAYTON, Ohio — Despite it still being a very male-dominated sport, these days more and more young girls are lacing up their skates, putting on jerseys, and scoring key positions on hockey teams.
There’s nothing like the feeling of hitting the ice and scoring a goal.
“It’s a really, really good feeling to score. Your whole team cheers you on,” said Rory Bisgaard.
14 year old Rory Bisgaard has been playing hockey since she was four.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve played your whole life or for the last few years like 13 year old Sarah Kraus, girls are carving out their spot.
“I like the intensity and I’ve been doing it for four years,” said Kraus.
“They challenge each other. They get to meet girls from all over the state and all over the country because women’s hockey is wide open right now,” said Sarah’s mother, Emily Kraus.
“I feel like most of my teams have been majority boys and a lot of people think that since I’m a girl, I’m going to be weaker or I’m going to get hurt more and I think it kind of teaches you to be tough and kind of persevere against all the boys that think you’re weaker than them,” said Bisgaard.
Bisgaard and Kraus are looking forward to helping with a free upcoming Dayton Stealth girls’ hockey clinic.
“It’s for girls of any skill level 12 and under, just to get out there and have some fun, learn some new skills and maybe if you’re just starting this will help you out and if you’ve been at it a while, you can go out there and have some fun,” said Dayton Stealth Board Secretary and Rory’s mother Dawn Bernal-BIsgaard.
“I actually grew up playing in Dayton. I could count on less than one hand how many competitive girls’ hockey players were around when I was growing up,” said hockey coach Katie Baldwin.
Baldwin is a coach at Ohio State.
“This rink didn’t exist when I grew up. I got dressed in coat closets with concrete floors and I had to wear skate guards just to be able to play on the boys’ teams. The game has just grown so much for girls, not just in Dayton but the state of Ohio and the nation as a whole,” she said.
After playing in college, Baldwin eventually made her way back home to Dayton.
This will be her third year heading up the clinic.
“When I put on the clinic the first time, we had maybe 12 or 15 girls that showed up and I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe all those girls lived in Dayton,” she said.
While the interest in girls’ hockey is continuing to grow, Baldwin says there is still a lot of work to do.
“So it’s getting better with the professional league now paying a livable wage for the first time. There’s still just not as many options for girls to do much after college. Ohio State, they won the national championship at the Division I NCAA level last season and they were the runners-up this season. They offer full-ride scholarships, they have a wonderful program, they’re finally building the girls the rink that they deserve,” she said.
College is a few years away, but it’s something Bisgaard and Kraus are already thinking about.
“I’m on a full-time girls’ team now, so that’s something to be excited about,” said Kraus.
“I would love to keep playing. I would love to play in college if I could. I’m probably going to switch over to a full girls’ team all the way soon. I really like it. It’s so fun and you make so many good friends,” added Bisgaard.
The free all-girls’ hockey clinic occurs Saturday, Aug. 19 from 12 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. at NTRPD Chiller in Springfield.
Registration is required.
Click here for more information.
