CONGRATULATIONS
TO THE USA WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM
ON WINNING THE 2018 OLYMPICS GOLD MEDAL!
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| Hockey girls have Goals. https://www.facebook.com/BeAGirlAthletics/ |
VIDEO: NBC Sports
USA defeats Canada to win the gold medal in women's hockey
2018 Olympics Canada vs USA in Women's Hockey Gold Medal Game
Olympic Gold Medalist Angela Ruggiero was a member of the gold-winning 1998 team. I interviewed her for the book, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. She certainly didn't begin her amazing career as a skilled skater. Read on.
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| Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women by J.Q. Rose Stories of inspiring women in careers of science, medicine, technology, writing, horticulture and more. |
Excerpt: Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women, Chapter 10
Angela Ruggiero, proud member of
Team USA, stood on the Olympics’ podium to accept the gold medal as the whole
world watched. Team USA Women’s Ice
Hockey team earned gold medals for their outstanding play against the worlds’
best teams. This was a moment she would
remember for her lifetime.
When she was seven years old
Angela began playing ice hockey with her older sister, Pamela, and younger
brother, Billy, at the local ice rink where she developed the skills and speed.
But Angela’s first step into the
ice rink did not go well for her. After many stumbles, slips, and falls, she
reached the wall of the ice rink. She
held on to it to keep her upright as she inched her way around the enormous
rink. She gained a little more
confidence and learned how to manage all the weight and limitations of the
hockey gear. She began to let go of the wall and try longer strides. She was determined to get up some speed. And finally, after two hours, Angela loved
skating! She didn’t want to get off the
ice when her time was up.
When Angela was nine years old,
she became aware of the problem of being a girl playing in a boy’s sport. Angela was not a petite little girl. She was strong and athletic and could keep up
with the boys. Her skills in ice hockey
matched and surpassed many of the boys her age.
But when a team was selected to play a special tournament in Canada ,
Angela was chosen only as the first alternate.
This meant that only if a team member were sick or injured, Angela would
be allowed to play.
Angela didn’t wish for someone to
be sick or hurt, but she really wanted the chance to play in the tournament.
When her brother, Billy, and her dad arrived at the airport to fly to Canada
with the team, the coach told them that two boys were sick and couldn’t play in
the tournament.
“I’ll call Angela to get ready and
go pick her up,” Mr. Ruggiero told the coach.
But the coach said, “No, that’s
not necessary, Bill. She’s a girl.”
Although she was heartbroken when
her dad told her she couldn’t play for Team California because she was a girl,
she never wanted to quit. Instead, she
became more determined than ever to be the best player she could be. She didn’t try to get even by knocking the
boys down or hurting them, but she did decide to outsmart them with her
outstanding skill and maneuvers.
To learn more about Angela Ruggiero, check out Chapter 10, Showing the Boys, in the Girls Succeed interactive e-book.
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