The Benefits of Avalanche Hockey

Fitness. Girls who play hockey develop general physical fitness by playing a game that’s fun.
Stress relief. Hockey allows girls to clear their minds of academic and social pressures, to literally skate off tension that’s accumulated in their muscles.
Mastery. Hockey gives girls a satisfying, enjoyable way to develop their talents and skills.
Healthy habits. Hockey increases an awareness of how physical and mental effort needs to be supported by proper eating and hydration habits.
Cardiovascular system. The sustained energy and muscular strength required in a hockey helps develop fitness and endurance.
Muscle strength. Playing hockey is a great way of developing your body’s leg muscles, including the hamstring, hips and calves. It also improves the endurance of shoulder muscles, triceps and forearms.
Coordination skills. Hockey relies on good coordination between the eyes and the hands and improves the reflexes and reaction times of its players.

Valuing preparation. Hockey help girls learn to learn to prepare their mind and bodies for games and practices.
Resilience. Hockey provides an unparalleled model for dealing with challenge and disappointment.
Attitude control. Girls learn that a having a confident attitude improves their performance, and that they have significant control over their attitude.
Leadership opportunities. Team hockey offers girls a rare opportunity to serve others as leaders.
Identity and balance. Being part of a group is inordinately important to girls, and hockey makes girls feel like they belong.
Time management. Young athletes learn to manage their time productively balancing hockey practices, games fitness, school and other life responsibilities.
Long-term thinking. Hockey players and other athletes often learn the fundamental lesson of sacrificing immediate gratification for long-term gain. This is the basis for personal success as well as for life in general, and perhaps in ones life, no lesson can be more valuable.

Relationships with other girls. Hockey players develop powerful relationships and often lasting friendships with their teammates.
Teamwork and Collaboration Skills. On a hockey team, girls learn about cooperation, camaraderie, and friendship. A hockey team is a natural environment in which to learn about one's responsibility to others.
Diversity. Hockey is a great equalizer as economic status, background, skin colour, appearance and more all become irrelevant issues when girls are at the rink. What counts to a hockey teammate is commitment, dedication, work ethic, talent and heart.
Relationships with adults. Hockey gives girls an opportunity to spend ongoing periods of time with an adult in a shared endeavor.
Participating in a community. Hockey fosters a sense of community and pride. Playing for a community like the North Shore gives girls a chance to build their sense of identity and community spirit.