Finding the Right Hockey Team for a Young Girl

I actually pulled this one from “the archives” (or from the many questions I received over the years while writing my hockey advice column for “Hockey/USA Magazine”).

Q: A “Concerned Mom” from Delaware can’t find a girls’ hockey program for her daughter, so she’s seeking advice about allowing her 8-year to play on a “boys’ team”.

A: First, Mom, during the earliest years, there’s little physical difference between boys and girls. Actually, at times, the young ladies will even develop ahead of the boys. That said, let me share some of my own observations or experiences…

Some time ago, I was asked to add my feelings on this subject for a girls’ hockey website. The site’s author had just done an article on the value of girls playing with boys during the early years, and she asked me to add my two cents worth. I immediately noted that the best girls I’d ever coached had spent the majority of their formative years practicing and playing with boys. A couple of these young ladies ultimately played on our National Team, and one was actually the Captain of her boy’s high school hockey team!

Now, don’t stone me for the following, all my lady readers, but… For the time being, on average, the coaching is probably better on most boys’ teams. Honestly, though, this is changing rapidly with the growth of women’s hockey.

More importantly, what I’ve seen as the major difference in female players has to do with attitude. Actually, it’s hard for me to describe this. However, what I think I’ve seen over the years is a certain mental toughness present in the girls who grew-up with the boys. And it’s almost as if they learned early-on to spread their elbows in the lockerroom — to claim their own space, and I think that may have translated to a real willing to do battle — with anyone — out on the ice.

Either way though, mom, I see absolutely no worries about starting your daughter in a so-called boys’ program. Year by year, you can always re-evaluate. In most instances, the real concerns — or the physical differences — start to arise around puberty, or when the heavier contact begins.