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Hackett prepares for ice hockey season as sole Staples captain /01"%20345#+1%-.6 Web News Editor
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hloe Hackett ’23 is ready for her third season as part of the Stamford/Westhill/Staples (SWS) co-op girls’ ice hockey team this winter — this time, as a co-captain. There are five total captains but Hackett is the only one from Staples (the remaining four captains are from the other two schools). Aided by her skates, uniform, hockey stick and charisma, Hackett, number five, has acquired more responsibility in and out of the rink.
How does the role of being a captain change when you are a junior? Is there more pressure? As a captain, I feel more approachable especially for the girls who are less experienced. The other captains have been playing since they were very young, and I’ve been playing since seventh grade. I think I got the position because I am the only upperclassman player at Staples and I’ve been on the team the longest. I don’t find that there is pressure being a junior captain specifically because I am also co-captain with another junior from Stamford. All of the senior captains are so supportive and welcoming to all of the other players at each school. The program is very diverse in terms of age, school and skill level so everyone feels accepted as a part of the team.
What are your plans as captain for this upcoming season? This year we are going to try to have more pasta dinners since the team isn’t really run like a normal Staples team with set-in-place home game pasta dinners. We are also trying to coordinate some random activities for bonding (since we don’t see a lot of other players at school) and it’s hard to form a connection on the ice since there’s not a lot of downtime.
How does the role of being a captain differ on a co-op team? Being a captain of a co-op team is definitely more difficult because you have to manage and take leadership over all of the players from your own school. For example, I have to make sure all the girls from Staples know the bus times and I have to take attendance and get in contact with everyone to figure out how many people are coming to practice and taking the bus.
What’s your favorite part about the team in general?
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I think this team is very special because people join from all different skill levels and different backgrounds of training (sometimes none). The team is always welcoming of girls of all skills to grow as players. We all are here for the same thing: to have a winter sport and make new friends. It’s just great to be able to bond with people who don’t attend your school. I also think that this team is great because you get to explore many different ice rinks. We’ll have practices at Longshore, but we also have practices at Terry Conners rink in Stamford, which is such a gift, because we get a taste of each town. Photo by
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SUCCESSFUL GAME The Stamford/Westhill/Staples girls’ ice hockey team defeated Avon/Southington 3-2 on Dec. 8.
Photo by Natalie Bandura ’22
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