The Hockey Book for Girls

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

This hockey manual for girls outlines the rules of the game; describes
appropriate equipment, skating techniques, and specific hockey skills;
and suggests suitable warm-up and cool-down exercises. Photographs are
interspersed throughout the text. Author Stacy Wilson participated in
the 1998 Winter Olympics and four World Championship games and has run a
girls’ hockey camp for several years.

Tips from an Olympic coach personalize the fact-based initial segment
of the book as well as the chapter devoted to the importance of being a
team player. In another segment, Wilson describes a typical hockey day
from 8:15 a.m. to 11:45 p.m., helping beginning players visualize what a
typical day would be like. She also profiles some famous women hockey
players from all over the world who represent good role models.

An interview with a U.S. Olympic Team assistant captain enlivens
another chapter. As the only girl on her youth hockey team, she
initially had some difficulty being accepted by the boys, but later
found it was like “having 19 brothers there to protect me.” She
stresses the importance of playing as a team, giving one’s all, and
setting personal goals.

Wilson envisions a glowing future for women’s hockey, pointing to the
many Canadian universities that are adding the sport to their programs
and to the increasing probability of a professional hockey league for
women. The Hockey Book for Girls is recommended.