West Hants women take to the ice

By Jennifer Hoegg

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

For the first time, local women don’t have to give up hockey after graduating from high school. Eighteen women hit the ice each week to represent West Hants in the Nova Scotia Women’s Hockey League (NSWHL).

Coach Mark Benedict was instrumental in getting the team on the ice this season. Watching his daughters play, he realized that women over 19 were missing from the hockey scene. “I have two girls in minor hockey and I coach at Avon View. There was nowhere for them to play after that if they weren’t going on to university teams.” With the rapid growth of female minor hockey in the Valley, it was time to create opportunities for women to play.

Benedict decided to do something about it, contacting the NSWHL last August to put the puck in motion. The team was “a bit of a chore to get going,” and potential players were hesitant to commit. But, Benedict noted, “once they realized the team was a go, everyone was pumped. Two girls even drive down from the city.”

In October, wearing jerseys donated by local company Nu-Air, West Hants became the seventh team in the NSWHL’s second division. Ranging in age from 15 to over 40 -- second division teams are allowed to carry three players under the age of 18 -- the women are enjoying every moment of their 20-game schedule. They even have a volunteer announcer, adding a professional feel to home games in Brooklyn.

Excited about opportunity

Talia Greenough, who splits her time between Greenfield and Halifax, is excited about the opportunity to play without the time commitment of varsity hockey. A figure skater and skating coach, Greenough thought she would have to choose between hockey and skating before she heard about Benedict’s efforts. “It means a lot to be able to play after high school. I found a love for the sport in the few years that I played.”

Many older players have waited a long time for senior women’s hockey to come to the area. Left-winger Bobbi Jones has been looking for team for 10 years, after relocating from Newfoundland where she played minor and women’s hockey.

Too busy with work and three children to drive to Halifax to play, Jones went without until this winter. She’s having fun and thinks it’s great for girls to see women playing recreational sports. “You don’t have to stop playing when you’re a mom or a wife. You can keep playing if you enjoy it -- even if not playing at a high level.”

Centre forward Tanya Singer, a coach herself and organizer of female development with West Hants Minor Hockey, knows the importance of recreational activities for women. On her first team since high school, Singer loves being back on the ice. “We range right from students to mothers. It’s a good mix of people and we all have a ball.”

Busy schedules

One of the challenges of creating and maintaining women’s recreational sports teams is the busy schedules many women manage. For moms, it can be a challenge to add another activity to the family mix.

Jones acknowledged that it’s a hurdle. ”Kids are always more important. It’s always a bigger challenge for women than men, as women are often the ones who sacrifice their sport for their kids.”

Several of the mothers on the team have kids in hockey, meaning most family time is spent at the rink. Singer’s kids don’t mind, “it’s Mum playing hockey. It’s cool!”

All three women are excited about the growth potential of their team and league. “We can all see an overall improvement, working together as a team, learning the game” Jones said.

Singer added that the women, from beginners to experienced, “are starting to really gel as a team.”

For Greenough, this development is an added bonus. “I’m able to watch (the team) grow and develop together.”

Jones thinks more women should try hockey, even if it’s their first time. “No one should be afraid to try it,” she said. It’s great exercise. Some of the women have never played before but everyone is having a lot of fun”

For Benedict, the team has become a family affair. His daughter Samantha is one of the junior players and his wife, a hockey novice, is the team’s goaltender.

He’s modest about his involvement, but thrilled that the players are having a good time. “I think they’re all enjoying it”.

Greenough, Singer and Jones are grateful for his dedication. Jones said, “it’s great that Mark is doing this, you can’t have a team without a coach.”

Interest is building and team members hope there will be enough players to field a second team next season. For more information on Senior Women’s hockey, including West Hants’ schedule, visit www.nswhl.ca