Local girls' team makes meaningful impact for youth through hockey
Every Tuesday and Thursday night, a group of teenage girls take to the ice in their hockey gear. The represent the Columbus Chill Youth Hockey Association (CCYHA) Columbus Blue Jackets Girls' U-19 Hockey team, and while the focus is on playing a sport, the players have gotten benefits more significant than learning hockey.
Emily Moersdorf is the head coach of the team. Certified as a level 4 coach by USA Hockey, she's in her second year of leading the team. She played in the program herself from 2003-2008, and went on to play on the club team at the Ohio State University and now plays in the Columbus Adult Hockey League (CAHL). Throughout her playing days she has maintained a relationship with the CCYHA team.
"It's been something that's been irreplaceable in my life and I hope that the current team can say the same thing," Moersdorf said.
The team of 18 girls, ages 16-19, is part of the Heartland Girls Hockey League. Traveling to games on the weekends makes up their 35 game season which culminates in the opportunity to play against other teams in their six-team district at the Mid-Am tournament -- the winner gets a bid to the national tournament.
The Columbus girls made it to nationals two years ago after beating a Pittsburgh-based team that was confident they were going to the finals.
"Winning against Pittsburgh was one of the best days of my life," said 16 year-old Alex Jozefiak of Powell. "They went in thinking they had us, it was really fun. I think we were the first team from our program to make it to nationals."
It's bigger lessons like the feeling of accomplishment and a sense of team that the program is all about. Moersdorf said a lot of the girls come up through the CCYHA program, just as she did, because they are looking for opportunities to continue to play hockey when bantam programs and high schools offer only co-ed teams.
"We're a no-checking league," Moersdorf said. "There's definitely body contact, but this is an opportunity to play on a girls' team in a girls' league. And we're not just about hockey, we have a theory that we're growing up good people."
Jozefiak and her teammate, 17-year-old Haley Abramowitz have been playing together in the program for years. Each of their families encouraged them to get on the ice by skating -- and then they discovered their love for the game of hockey.
18 girls play on the Columbus Chill Youth Hockey Association (CCYHA) Columbus Blue Jackets Girls U-19 Hockey team.
"I loved (playing hockey) immediately," Jozefiak said. "I've been playing with a lot of the girls on this team since I was 10 years old, and we're like family. The best part is definitely the people."
The sense of family is what Moersdorf seeks to build with the team. The focus isn't completely on competitive hockey. Much like club-level sports at the college level, many of the team's players participate in additional activities such as band, choir, other sports, and part time jobs.
"We hope to create life-long friendships among the girls," Moersdorf said. "We just want to create good human beings. Some of these kids, especially at middle school age, need someone other than their teachers helping them know what to do. We want to help them learn about respecting friends and teammates."
And while the girls relish the opportunity to be with a group that they say understands them like no other, there is the reality of introducing others outside the team to the idea that girls do play hockey.
"Last year on the bus some kid asked me what my sweatshirt was, it was one from Nationals," Jozefiak said. "When I explained he said "real hockey?" and I said "what other type of hockey is there?""
There is also the reality that in today's hockey world, the role the sport will play in their lives after they age out of the program will likely change.
Coach Emily Moersdorf talks with her team before a recent game.
"I definitely wish there was more where we could go other than just the Olympics," Abramowitz said. "But right now it's just about the people and having fun."
For Moersdorf, while the NHL is not currently an option for girls, she isn't concerned about the players feeling like there's nowhere to go after their time with the team is done. She sees opportunities for the girls at the college level and beyond.
"I feel like what this program gave to me was to still play a higher level of hockey," Moersdorf said. "We're giving the kids a better place to play, and you can find a way to get paid for hockey in another way long term - by being a coach, or by being a referee."
Funded in part through support from the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation, Moersdorf hopes that the program continues to grow to allow for more teams. This year they have an under-19 roster and an under-16 roster. She hopes next year enough girls come out to build an under 14 roster as well and that more girls can gain the benefits of what the CCYHA program has to offer.
For the girls who are playing today, the benefits already far outweigh the wins or losses on any scoresheet.
"It's a privilege to be part of this team," Abramowitz said. "It's the biggest privilege I have."
