KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City continues to make a name for itself in the sports realm.
As we approach the middle of Women’s History Month, it’s no different story.
The Kansas City Women’s Hockey League is a team registered with USA Hockey, making it the city's first women's official hockey team.
Neatha Snyder and her 70 teammates in the Kansas City Women’s Hockey league are puck hungry.
They say to take on a sport that’s typically padded by men is empowering women.
“I didn’t start playing until much later in life; I never even skated,” Snyder said. “I was a hockey wife and a hockey mom, I never considered playing.”
Snyder’s skates now have a few years on them, and she trains against her family.
“When you put on all that equipment on, you feel kind of invincible, and when you’re a woman in this world, that’s an awesome feeling right?” Snyder said.
They say there was a demand for more time on the ice, more space for women.
“Women’s hockey is growing,” she said.
On Monday, the team celebrated one year together in a league they created.
“While it is a male-dominated sport, it seems intimidating, it’s really not,” she said.
“Most of the people who try it with us love it,” said Kristina Campos, assistant executive director of Kansas City Women’s Hockey League.
Snyder said that although it can be intimidating, there's lots of support throughout the team.
“It’s nerve-wracking, but when you’re in such a supportive comforting sort of environment, it’s so much easier to step out there,” Snyder said. “It’s okay to fall down and it's okay to be the brand-new person.”
These players take pride in a USA Hockey league they built.
“We have so many women who come from all walks of life, we are all so supportive of each other we want to see the game grow, but we also care about what’s going on in each other lives,” Campos said.
The Kansas City Women’s Hockey League practices Saturday at 5 p.m. at Line Creek.
For more information go to their website.
For girls 18 and under the Kansas City Storm Girls Hockey club website is open to new players.
—