Joining the Ladies

I heard back from Maria right away; she emailed me describing what the "women's league" was all about. It wasn't a league in the typical sense, more like a group of women who got together to play every Sunday evening. I could pay up front for a whole season, or pay by game on a drop-in basis. Since I was chomping at the bit to get any experience I could, I signed up for the next season, which happened to be starting in a few weeks.

Playing with them was different than what I was used to with the guys outside. The biggest difference was we had a clock and a ref. I'd never had to deal with faceoffs before, and despite the fact that there were fans mounted above the nets, the period breaks were a welcome chance to cool off and get some water. But of course it was different playing with a group of women than it was playing with men. Stereotypes seemed to hold true; the women weren't as aggressive or show-boaty as the guys can be. I had been reticent to play on an all-female team because of some bad past experiences with a high school field hockey team, but they all seemed very nice right off the bat (hockey stick?).

It was good for me to experience playing with a different group of people, and the indoor league at that rink piqued my interest somewhat, though I wasn't sure I was ready for that, skill-wise. Fortunately or unfortunately, my opportunity to test those waters came sooner than I expected.