Girls Prep Hockey in motion

2019-2020+Girls+Varsity+Hockey

Photo by Stuart Rodgers Photography

2019-2020 Girls Varsity Hockey

Connor Drobny, Guest Writer from Journalism 1

LFA has long had a varsity girls hockey program that has played against other surrounding high school teams. For the past few years, however, the players and staff of the current girl’s team have wanted a more competitive program in LFA.

LFA has had a girl’s team for over 20 years, but ever since Tyler Madeley took over the role of head coach two years ago, he and the athletics department have planned to create an official girls’ prep hockey team. 

However, students have been confused about whether or not the current girl’s team is a prep team or not. Madeley acknowledged the confusion and rumors saying, “I think the confusion just comes from people using the name (Girls Prep Hockey) passively.” Madeley clarifies the current girl’s program saying, “We are not a prep team yet, and we haven’t had an actual prep team yet.” 

The plans to create the team, however, are in motion. Madeley said, “As soon as I got here, the idea was that we were going to start building a legitimate prep program. A lot of us on the team like to think that we are getting towards a prep mindset.” Madeley goes into greater detail on recruiting the players for the team with, “We’ve been busy recruiting. We’ve been out trying to get at least a couple of girls a year, and then this year, even more than that.”

An example of an upcoming player recruited to play for the prep team is Sarah Daly. Daly is the current goalie of the varsity team and will be playing on the prep team when it is created. Daly said, “I am excited. That’s one of the main reasons I’m here, because I was one of the recruits to be one of the starts of our girl’s prep hockey team.” When asked what Daly is most excited about in the new team, she said, “A big thing is winning. We had a couple of struggles with that last year, but I feel with more girls who are familiar with the game, we will have more strategy.”

For girls who feel that they aren’t ready to play on this team yet, there is nothing to be worried about. Madeley explained that, “We would most likely create, just like the boy’s program, two different teams. A varsity team that plays varsity high school games, and then a prep team that plays Triple-A teams (Teams compiled of the best girls in each state), travels, and looks very similar to our boy’s prep program.” A two-team system allows girls at every level the ability to play hockey at LFA. 

The only unfortunate news is that the team is still in development and may not exist for a few years. Madeley said, “I think that (a prep team) is probably a two or three-year plan.” Madeley commented on the surge of girls new to hockey last year signing up for the varsity team, saying, “We also, honestly, have the numbers now to do so. The ability to (have the numbers to create a prep team) is easier than we think because we have so many girls that are interested in playing hockey.”

The pieces for a girl’s prep team are in place and will be put together over the next few years. More girl hockey players than ever are ready to go to the next level, play on this team, and are excited about it. The girl’s team will be very skilled, and LFA is excited about the new program.