Girls Playing Hockey: It's No Longer a Man's Game

There was a time when being the only girl on the boys hockey team was the only way for a girl to play hockey. Thanks to countless women over the last one hundred years women's hockey has grown exponentially in the United States and Canada. For young women looking to lace up the skates, shoot the puck, and have some fun, hockey is becoming a great option. Women's hockey has come a long way since the first game was played in the late 1800s. In 1990 the women's world ice hockey championship was held for the first time and at that time only 6,336 females were registered with USA hockey in the United States. In 2008 nearly 60,000 women were registered. Also, this typically doesn't include girls playing for their high school or college hockey team who are not required to register with USA hockey. With increasing growth in the women's game in the past 10 years, more young girls than ever are turning to hockey as their number one activity.

The larger number of girls involved in the game has allowed for an environment in which girls are allowed to learn and develop in a similar way as boys would. In the past, young girls only had the option of playing on their local boys teams. Now that the numbers support young women in hockey, the competition in all girls hockey has allowed for women to excel in their game. It's not just the numbers that matter, the skill every year has gotten better and better. With more players comes better competition.

More ice time is also a key to development in females. Many ranks give priority to boy's ice hockey and the girls often take a seat on the back burner. It can also be a struggle for girls who play hockey in nontraditional markets, meaning outside of hockey hotbeds like Minnesota, Boston, and Detroit. Female players in nontraditional markets who have a high level of skill often are forced to make the move up north to find competition that will allow them to continue their development. Since there is no NHL for females, the ultimate goal for female hockey players is college hockey and the Olympics.

Since the first women's world ice hockey championship the number of teams in the United States has risen 844% and don't expect that number to drop anytime soon. Where there is a will there is a way, and the passion and determination of female hockey players will continue to grow as competition becomes more fierce. Next time you go to your local rink check out the female hockey players, they might surprise you.