Community Corner
Women's Hockey Team Makes Comeback
A Glenbrook girls high school hockey team has been absent for three years. After adding more schools to the roster, a team is back together.
The last time the Glenbrook schools fielded a girls hockey squad, the team ended up playing in the state championship. But it disbanded the following year because there wasn't enough interest to form a team.
Now, just three years after the state championship appearance, the girl's team is back.
"I never have [played for a high school] before, so I'm excited about it," said Calli Paulsen, a senior at Glenbard East who came out for the first night of tryouts Sept. 12.
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Seventeen girls showed up at the Glenview Ice Center, ready to play. Shawn Harmon, who is also Team Illinois U19 AAA girls club hockey team head coach, will lead the squad, and the team now pulls players from Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Maine East, Niles West, Evanston, Johnsburg and Glenbard East high schools. The club squad will play in the Chicago Metro League against local opponents like Loyola and New Trier.
Parents and players said that allowing more high schools to feed into one team has made all the difference. Only two high schools—Loyola and New Trier—are able to pull in enough female players from their districts to field separate teams.
"A lot of people don't want their daughters to play because they think it's too rough," said Nelson Spruston, whose daughter was there to try out.
As Spruston watched her on the ice, he said that at first, she was intimidated by the sport.
"Most girls have to play with boys; that's why my daughters started so late," he said. Often, girls play with boys in coed leagues when they're younger.
"You can tell who played with boys and who didn't," said Katie Riley, a junior at Glenbrook North.
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Then there are the girls who started out on the rink not in hockey skates, but in ice skates.
"When I was younger, I was a figure skater, but I didn't like the dresses," said Kelsey Dupuis, a senior at Glenbrook South who played as a freshman in the state championship game three years ago and now returns as a senior. Dupuis said even with all the club opportunities available, she still wants to play for her high school.
The new team starts play Oct. 15, after a second night of tryouts Sunday, Sept. 19 at the Glenview Ice Center, 1851 Landwehr Rd. No previous experience is necessary and there will be no cuts.
