National Girls and Women in Sports Day (February 4th) will always hit me right in the heart. I’m a former college athlete—an ice hockey goalie—and even now, years later, there’s something about a rink that instantly takes me back: the cold air, the sharp sound of skates, the feeling that anything can happen in the next few seconds. I’ll forever cherish my high school in Western New York because it was the first in the area to have a girls’ hockey team.
At the time, it felt like we were doing something bigger than just playing a sport—we were carving out space for girls who came after us.
Youth sports have changed drastically since my experience—more intensity, more pressure, more “go-go-go.” But one change I truly love is the growth of girls’ and women’s sports. More opportunities. More visibility.
More girls are seeing themselves as athletes because the world is finally starting to reflect back: You belong here.
And with the Winter Olympics starting February 6th, I already know I’ll be glued to the TV for women’s ice hockey, figure skating, and ski racing. Yes, I’ll probably watch some men’s hockey too, because once a goalie, always a goalie.
I got a front-row reminder of how far women’s hockey has come in November when I attended the U.S. vs. Canada game in Buffalo as part of the Rivalry Series.
The environment was electric—loud, proud, and full of girls watching the kind of speed, strength, and skill that makes your jaw drop. It wasn’t just a game. It felt like a moment.
The kind that sticks with you and makes you grateful you get to witness this era of women’s sports.
My daughter hasn’t pursued hockey, and that’s perfectly fine—I’m not raising a mini-me. But I am raising a girl who has choices, and that means everything. Because sports give kids so much more than exercise, they teach you how to get back up after a tough loss, how to be part of something bigger than yourself, and how to believe you can do hard things. Those lessons last long after the final buzzer, and I’ll always be grateful I learned them on the ice.
