USA Hockey Magazine

November 2012

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Katey Stone talks about the honor that comes with being named the head coach of the 2014 U.S. Women's Olympic Team during USA Hockey's 75th Anniversary Gala in Colorado Springs. Katey Stone stepped onto the stage at the USA Hockey 75th Anniversary Gala in June, moments after she was introduced as the first female head coach of the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team and thought to herself, "It's great to be the first of something, but I don't want to be the last." Donna Guariglia, meanwhile, sat in the audience that night as Stone made her way to the stage. "I had chills," said Guariglia, USA Hockey's Girls'/Women's Section direc- tor. "I knew it was going to happen, but I was thrilled for her. I believe things are moving forward." Stone's appointment as the coach of to make the most of it. And I hope that more females fill more coaching roles all over hockey." According to USA Hockey membership the U.S. Women's Olympic Team for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, is a milestone moment. And it's another sign that the influence of female coaches on the game is both growing and advancing. "It's about USA Hockey getting who they think can get the job right," said two- time Olympian Shelley Looney, who ran the New Jersey Colonials female program for the past seven years. "And it might open doors, encourage other women to continue coaching. It shows that USA Hockey is open to finding the best coach, male or female." After blazing a trail for future genera- tions of female hockey players and coaches, Looney has a cautious optimism that this is just another step in the evolution of women's hockey in the United States. It's a sentiment that is shared by Stone. "Obviously, who during her 18-year tenure at Harvard has become the winningest coach in the history of Division I women's hockey. "I hope that over a long period, I've earned the opportunity. And I'm looking records, in 2011 there were 2,752 registered female coaches and 82 women working in college programs around the country. More young female athletes – nearly 51,000 girls across the country played hockey at some level in 2011-12 – are get- ting the opportunity to play for women who once played the game, who share their passion and who want to impart their own experiences. But there is much to be done. At the college level, many women lament the too- frequent departure of their female peers from the coaching ranks, young coaches choosing to leave programs because of the difficulty of balancing the demands of coaching and family life. Looney, who scored the game-winning goal against Canada in the 1998 Nagano Games, said that balancing act can be a challenge. "I think it's a little tougher for women. it's time to get out or do something else." But as Mark Tabrum, the director of USA Hockey's Coaching Education Program pointed out, that may just be the natural evolution of the profession. Approximately 10,000 new coaches join the USA Hockey ranks each year, and another 10,000 leave the game for a variety of reasons. Of the 36 NCAA Div. I women's hockey programs in the country to start the 2012- 13 season, only eight will be coached by women. Add to the mix another 43 women who are serving as assistant coaches within women's D-I programs. Nevertheless, there is little debate that these women are also serving as important role models for a generation of younger coaches and their players. youth women coaches coming in, and they stay for a couple of years or so and then That's what people have said in the past," she said. "I've seen a flood of college and But role models can also be found at the grassroots levels, in places such as Allen, Texas, which is not the likeliest location to breed up-and-coming hockey coaches. "I have seen a lot of women who are not necessarily wanting to do it for a career, but are doing it to give back," said Kendall Hanley, who runs the hockey programs as a recreation specialist in Allen's parks department. it's an honor," said Stone, "It's a different impression that a girl gets from a female coach, especially when she's younger. The girls are impressionable and female role models are great to have." — SHELLEY LOONEY, TWO-TIME OLYMPIAN AND LONG-TIME YOUTH HOCKEY COACH USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM NOVEMBER.2012 21

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