Contrary to what the untrained eye might lead you to believe, there is, in fact, a female in the photo you see below here.
Bottom row, second from the left.
Yep. It’s me.
I was one of the lucky girls with parents who, for whatever reason, decided to sign her up for mixed hockey - most commonly referred to as ‘boy’s hockey’ - when I started begging to play when I was five or six. I honestly never really knew why they did that, and when I called my dad to ask about it, he didn’t really know either. He said it was just what he knew. While girls hockey was the perfect route for some of my best friends growing up, I’d like to preface this list by saying I wouldn’t change a thing about my time playing mixed league hockey.
There were, however, some ~interesting~ experiences that were pretty exclusive to playing on a team where I was the only girl that I imagine many girls in the same situation experienced. So, behold- ten things that I experienced being the only girl on my hockey team.
1. The whole dressing room mess
Let’s get this one out of the way first, because it’s always the first thing people ask:
“DID YOU CHANGE WITH THE BOYS???”. Like, yeah? When I was seven and nobody knew the difference, of course. This one didn’t become a mess until I was in Peewee, but when it became a mess, it became a whole MESS, and there’s a few commonly used ways to get around it.
There’s the home dressing option to avoid the dressing room, and I sincerely commend everyone who had the absolute shamelessness to show up at the rink in full hockey gear with little sneakers on their feet. A statement look, for sure, but not one I had the confidence for. Then, there’s the one where you get ready in the dingiest, loneliest referee room and sneak into the dressing room at the last second. Not exactly how to get fired up for a big game with the team, but way she goes.
2. When someone says something offside to the room, and then awkwardly apologizes to you
First off, I’ve heard way worse from the other team, and I appreciate the effort here. Either way, I'm pretty sure telling us we ‘played like girls’ after a bad game even if I wasn’t in the room wouldn't have been ideal.
In fact, I probably should have spoken up about ones like this. We live and we learn, and if it was today, I probably would have thrown an elbow,
3. When the coach says “Partner up!” at practice and you accept your inevitable solitude
Wow! I can’t wait to do this drill with the assistant coach. Again. Yeehaw.
4. Guys on the other team either wouldn’t come near you or tried to run you into the next dimension. Absolutely no in between.
This never made sense to me. Seriously. Play me like you’d play any other human on the ice?? I know what I signed up for, so you can hit me without stopping and apologizing, and you also don’t have to make an attempt on my life. I will literally never forget this guy named Brock who played for the Nipigon Elks and went out of his way to run me from behind like a wild animal whether I was near the puck or not. I’m pretty sure he’s in prison now TBH.
5. When they did go with the running you option, the guys on your team had your back
While I will never forget Brock lighting me up, I will also never forget Sam, who played defense for my team, and dropped the gloves as soon as I went down. I was honestly a little loopy in the moment, but my dad said that Sam wrecked him. There is a special place in hockey heaven for those teammates.
6. The rink rat or Zamboni driver is your best pal
Thank you, sweet human, for never hating me when I had to ask you to unlock an extra dressing room, or referee room, or bathroom between floods. You’re the real MVP.
7. Your teammates’ moms are your personal fan club
Kris Jenner may have made this one famous, but the moms on my hockey team who loved my ability to effectively balance wearing glitter liquid eyeliner on the ice and throwing elbows were the true inventors of the ‘you’re doing amazing, sweetie’ meme.
8. The unspoken sisterhood of all the other girls who were the only ones on their team
When you head out onto the ice with your brothers, you’re only apart of one team, but there’s always a little bit of inevitable camaraderie when you spot a ponytail on the other end of the rink. Heck, sometimes I even shared dressing rooms with the only girl on the other team.
Spare hair tie? Got your back, sis. I will drop a shoulder on you in about ten minutes, though, and I’d expect nothing less from you.
9. The repetitive nature of the chirps from the other team
Tyler, I’ve been told that I look like a dude or that I like girls at least once a game this season. I love a little trash talk, but please at least mix these up if you want to beak me, sir.
10. “Wait, why do you need to wear a jill?”
You know what, boys? I have no comment on this one. Give your head a shake.
Again, I wouldn't change a thing about my experience going through the ranks of minor hockey as one of the few girls among the boys.
More than anything, though, it warms my heart that situations like this are becoming few and far between. With the amount of girls participating in hockey rising every year, it's becoming more and more rare that girls will ever do it alone again.
That's the biggest win we could ask for.
So whether you played all girls hockey or mixed, or don't play at all - Happy International Women's Day!
