Hockey clinic for girls a nice change
Pop quiz: Who knows what Title IX is?
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 led the National College Athletic Association officials creating more athletic programs for women. The federal law prevented gender discrimination in activities -- like collegiate events -- which took in federal funding.
It was controversial, because funding that was once earmarked for men's programs was yanked. That money was then used to start up women's programs. Some men's teams which did not produce much money for the colleges -- like gymnastics or swimming -- were eliminated, or forced to become club sports.
Action like that was needed because administrators were crying poor, using that as an excuse not to have women's programs. Title IX has caused a ripple effect through the years. Now we see women professional leagues in basketball and soccer. You find women's team sports on major network television.
And now Hoffman Estates is seeing the effect in their own community.
The idea of girls playing hockey may once have been a novel idea, but try telling that to the women playing on the U.S. Olympic hockey team.
And so the Hoffman Estates Park District is inviting girls 8 to 18 to lace up their skates to play ice hockey. The Hoffman Ice Program's Introduction to Girls Hockey starts Friday at the Community Center, 1685 W. Higgins Road. Every Friday for 10 weeks, through Dec. 24, coaches will show girls how to skate, pass and shoot. Randy Jordan, an instructor for the Blackhawks Clinic leads the program. He's got more than 30 years of coaching experience and was named American Hockey Association of Illinois Coach of the Year.
If you've got a girl who's more Bobby Hull than Michelle Kwan, the course, which costs $50 for 10 sessions, is for you. Call Jordan at (847) 285-5501 for more information, or e-mail him at rjordan@heparks.org.
And if you know a teen girl or boy who wants to skate without the pads, the district's Teen Time Skate Night is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the arenas. It costs $4 for Wolfpack members, and $5 for nonmembers.