A Passionate Hockey Girl, A Barbie Doll and an Inspiration
How Emma Hughes is Growing the Game
There is a lot of great things about "Girls Hockey Weekend 2020." Tons of pictures, loads of smiles, new players joining the game and, of course, some great stories. One of those stories struck close to the heart as it came to our attention. That is with Emma Hughes simply asking Mattel, yes the toy maker, to bring about a USA Hockey Barbie to go along with their Canadian / Tim Hortons version.
Emails back and forth, Facebook groups representing hockey moms and even US based players, asking their friends to the north if they happen to find one, would they be willing to ship it to them. There is definitely a market for a US version, as Female Hockey is the fastest growing sport in the US. It is growing even faster than the males counterpart.
With the only true slouch in growth during the 2013 season, which for both men's and women's registration was an abysmal year. But despite the growth, there is a shrinking number of dedicated girls teams. Now, this article isn't about the conversation of whether or not your daughter should play on a boys team, or if it is indeed more competitive. This is about Emma and what she has seen and her drive to grow the female hockey game.
Emma is passionate and recalls an experience that happened a couple short years ago, and mind you Emma has only been playing four years, at the local rink. She tells the story about after a skills clinic while she was in the viewing area, lets not start about locker rooms, and there was a family watching through the glass.
They were watching the Hockey Players and the Figure Skaters. The little girl pointed to the hockey players and said " I want to do that" to which the father responded "No, hockey is for boys" while gesturing towards the figure skaters he kept saying "That is for the girls"
Emma then made a slow spectacle removing her helmet, her jersey and the rest of her pads to show that girls do play too. The young lady beamed and proclaimed to her family "Look! She is a girl AND she plays hockey"
We are sure that moment will always be in that young ladies heart and we hope that she was able to start playing hockey. But that story is true for many of the female players. Including our own daughter. As she has shocked so many people when she comes off the ice and they see that blond hair and beaming smile.
This is one of the many reasons why the "Bringing USA Hockey Barbie" is important. You see, we agree with Emma and that even though Barbie sometimes gets a bad rap, she does have an extreme influence over the youngest generation. There are Dr. Barbie's, Veterinary Barbie's, CEO Barbie's etc, ALL inspiring the next generation of young girls to reach for the stars and their dreams. TO show them that it is possible to do what they set out for, if they put in the work, the time and the dedication, regardless if "hockey is for boys."
The partnership between Mattel and Tim Hortons includes donating portions of the proceeds to helping to GROW and support the girls game. The young ladies in the United States could use the same. I am sure there are companies that would be happy to join the cause. Secret Supported the Dream Gap Tour, you see Dunkin Donuts frequently. We are sure there is a US based company that would LOVE to get there hands on the advertising and movement.
Even with the progress that has been made since the Olympics with athletes like Hillary Knight, Kendall Coyne and the Lamoureux twins hosting camps and events for girls. Driving the awareness of the women's hockey movement with the "Dream Gap" tour last year was an excellent start to inspire. The National Hockey League teams teams have increased their backing of the girls game with junior style teams. There has even been a change in the ownership model within the National Women's Hockey League to become more sustainable. Even with all of these things, there is still a lot of work to do, and this would be an excellent start at building the bench from the ground up.
Emma has written an article about her travels and her drive, that can be read on The Ice Garden Website, Click Here to view.
For all those Young Girls, the parents and role models, take a moment to fill out the petition that Emma started to let Mattel know! Bring Hockey Barbie to the US
- Gurl Power Athletics, 10/20/2020