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2014-2015 WWFHA Season Kickoff Event Recap

By Victoria Reeb, 10/07/14, 12:45PM PDT

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On Thursday, September 11, 2014, Shoreline City Hall was nearly standing room only, but not for a council meeting. The date and location marked WWFHA's annual season kickoff event, and families representing all three teams were in attendance.

The evening began with individual team member pictures (special thanks to former WWFHA parent and professional photographer, Daria Schubert). Next, the following introductions were made:

 

2014-2015 WWFHA Board of Directors

  • Cindy Dayley, President
  • Colin Nurse, Vice President
  • Lisa McNeill, Secretary
  • Zoe Harris, Treasurer
  • Adam Young, Registrar

2014 - 2015 Coaching Staff:

U19 Rep Team

U19 Team

U14 Team

2014-2015 Professional Staff:

  • Dr. Cherie Johnson, Physician and Surgeon - Foot & Ankle
  • Katie Davis, Student-Athlete Counselor
  • Mary Howley-Ryan, Dietitian
  • Rene Czerwinski, Well Body Counselor
  • Tani Midgarden, Yoga Instructor

Professional Staff support and further develop players, coaches and the association. They serve to give members a well-rounded experience on and off ice. The Pro-Staffers will attend occasional practices and can be engaged privately for additional help in their area of expertise.

2014-2015 Honorary Board Members:

  • Kelly Stephens Tysland, Women's Ice Hockey Olympian
  • Stacey Rondeau Livingston, Olympic Official
  • Kelly Katorji, Independent Collegiate Scout

Honorary board members are leaders in the community who support the WWFHA mission and act as advisors, counselors, and champions of the Washington Wild players, families, and Board.

Following introductions, highlights were shared about WWFHA's new website. Information can be found at WWFHA.com about the association and each team, including practice and game schedules; board member and professional staff bios; team apparel store; fundraising opportunities; and much more. You'll also find WWFHA on Facebook and Twitter. Sport Ngin, a downloadable App, can put your team's schedule and stats in the palm of your hand.

The keynote address was presented by 2006 US Women's Ice Hockey Olympian, Kelly Stephens Tysland. A Pacific Northwest native from Shoreline, she and the girls could relate to one another on various levels (females in a predominantly male sport, players in a hockey-anemic U.S. state, athletes with personal goals and aspirations). Kelly's engaging, confident, personal style of speaking created an immediate connection with each girl. Kelly's account of her path to the Olympics, fraught with challenges and set-backs, as well as accomplishments, helped each WWFHA member realize that hockey is about fortitude; it's just as much a mental game as an on-ice physical one. Listening to Kelly, the girls also learned about the possibility of great achievement. To attain personal long-range goals, she encouraged them to identify and faithfully execute shorter-term action steps to ensure success. She challenged them to commit to doing the tedious, difficult things in order to build the strength--of body and mind--that will serve them on their missions.

Throughout the evening door prizes were drawn, and lucky winners received WWFHA apparel, Microsoft computer mice, and even a Nokia Windows cell phone. Each player also was presented with a WWFHA team hockey bag, courtesy of a generous anonymous/association-matched donation, practice socks and an association window cling.

Victoria Reeb

Bellingham freelancer Victoria Reeb travels to ice rinks far and wide to support her daughter’s love of playing hockey for Washington Wild. When the weather warms up, she can be found at the motocross track, cheering on her son and daughter. She writes about finding the positive in any situation, and gets lots of inspiration from her active family, three pet dogs and job at an elementary school.