The Women's Ice Hockey team has 31 members, which is astounding growth compared to last year.
By Eliza Kreske
For the first time in history, The Pioneer Women’s Ice Hockey team has two teams this year and are looking to further grow their team.
“Having it grow is great because it’s a really cool sport,” said Elizabeth Joffe, a sophomore.
Joffe was forced to do a team sport by her parents and she choose ice hockey because it was the only sport she knew. Despite “hating the idea”, she found herself enjoying the experience. “It was a one of a kind team,” she said. “It ended up being a good experience.”
This year the program has both a Varsity and a new Junior Varsity team. Head coach Alexander Hurd says that while there has been some challenges, like finding time to be on the ice, there are also several benefits. “Players can improve when they can practice with players of similar skill level. Having a JV team this year has attracted more athletes, as there are now more opportunities for competition,” he said. “The larger team [also] spreads the cost over more players, making it less expensive. ” The team has to pay for ice time and buses to tournaments, among other things, so in order to be on the team players pay a fee.
Another issue that arose was with creating two teams, some players that were on Varsity last year were placed on Junior Varsity this year. Joffe says that she, among others, are still happy with the team dynamic. “We still practice together almost every day, and we’re still one big team,” she said.
Joffe also says that she, like many of the players there, appreciates the experience more than being a champion . “I’m not here to be the best,” she said. “I’m here to have fun.”
Hurd says there are many reasons that the sport is gaining popularity at Pioneer; their winter season, which avoids conflict with many popular sports, the fact that hockey is a stick sport, and the welcoming culture of the team. “We can teach players to play if they can skate, or even teach them how to skate first,” he said. “We have always had new players join.”
While the growth of the program is a positive thing, as of right now the program still receives no funding from the school, unlike most other sports and other teams in the league that Pioneer plays in. “If it keeps growing we hope we’ll get some funding like the other teams,” said Joffe.
Bradley says having to fund an entire program by itself poses some problems in making the sport accessible for everyone. “The cost is more to play than [most] other sports at Pioneer,” she said. “It definitely stops people from playing. A lot of people don’t know about fundraising that goes on.”
Hurd agrees. “I don’t know how many players are turned away each year due to the cost, but I’ve been hearing about it for years,” he said. “If we were to receive funding to cover future coaching salaries, transportation costs, and part of the ice bill, it would certainly help the program and would attract even more players,”
However, fundraising is key to the program. Hurd estimates that the cost per player over a season averages to about $1000 to $1600, but most of this can be covered by the team raising money by themselves through mattress sales and such. “We have had some families cover their entire season with fundraising,” he said.
Despite the challenges of having a women’s ice hockey program at Pioneer, Hurd believes it is worth it. “We are especially proud of our program,” he said.
For the first time in history, The Pioneer Women’s Ice Hockey team has two teams this year and are looking to further grow their team.
“Having it grow is great because it’s a really cool sport,” said Elizabeth Joffe, a sophomore.
Joffe was forced to do a team sport by her parents and she choose ice hockey because it was the only sport she knew. Despite “hating the idea”, she found herself enjoying the experience. “It was a one of a kind team,” she said. “It ended up being a good experience.”
This year the program has both a Varsity and a new Junior Varsity team. Head coach Alexander Hurd says that while there has been some challenges, like finding time to be on the ice, there are also several benefits. “Players can improve when they can practice with players of similar skill level. Having a JV team this year has attracted more athletes, as there are now more opportunities for competition,” he said. “The larger team [also] spreads the cost over more players, making it less expensive. ” The team has to pay for ice time and buses to tournaments, among other things, so in order to be on the team players pay a fee.
Another issue that arose was with creating two teams, some players that were on Varsity last year were placed on Junior Varsity this year. Joffe says that she, among others, are still happy with the team dynamic. “We still practice together almost every day, and we’re still one big team,” she said.
Joffe also says that she, like many of the players there, appreciates the experience more than being a champion . “I’m not here to be the best,” she said. “I’m here to have fun.”
Hurd says there are many reasons that the sport is gaining popularity at Pioneer; their winter season, which avoids conflict with many popular sports, the fact that hockey is a stick sport, and the welcoming culture of the team. “We can teach players to play if they can skate, or even teach them how to skate first,” he said. “We have always had new players join.”
While the growth of the program is a positive thing, as of right now the program still receives no funding from the school, unlike most other sports and other teams in the league that Pioneer plays in. “If it keeps growing we hope we’ll get some funding like the other teams,” said Joffe.
Bradley says having to fund an entire program by itself poses some problems in making the sport accessible for everyone. “The cost is more to play than [most] other sports at Pioneer,” she said. “It definitely stops people from playing. A lot of people don’t know about fundraising that goes on.”
Hurd agrees. “I don’t know how many players are turned away each year due to the cost, but I’ve been hearing about it for years,” he said. “If we were to receive funding to cover future coaching salaries, transportation costs, and part of the ice bill, it would certainly help the program and would attract even more players,”
However, fundraising is key to the program. Hurd estimates that the cost per player over a season averages to about $1000 to $1600, but most of this can be covered by the team raising money by themselves through mattress sales and such. “We have had some families cover their entire season with fundraising,” he said.
Despite the challenges of having a women’s ice hockey program at Pioneer, Hurd believes it is worth it. “We are especially proud of our program,” he said.