Female Hockey

Farmington resident one of 22 players set to compete against Canada

For Farmington’s Geena Prough, this summer just got a little busier.

The sophomore defenseman at Mercyhurst College was one of 22 players named to the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team that will participate in both the 2008 USA Hockey Women's National Festival in Lake Placid, N.Y. that starts August 12, and the 2008 Under-22 Series against Canada in Pierrefonds, Que., that runs August 20-23.

Photo courtesy Mercyhurst College Sports Information

Farmington’s Geena Prough was the only Michigan native named to the 2008 USA Hockey Women's Under-22 Select Team that will participate in the Women's National Festival in Lake Placid, N.Y. and the 2008 Under-22 Series against Canada in Pierrefonds, Que., in August.

Prough is one of seven newcomers to Team USA and the roster includes nine members of the 2008 U.S. Women's National Team that captured the gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship in April and two members of the 2008 U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team that earned the first-ever IIHF World Women's U18 Championship in January.

The team was selected after the USA Hockey Women's Under-22 Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., on June 24-July 1 that included thirty-three players. Five other players were considered for the team, bringing the total candidate pool to 38 players.

Jackie Barto, head women's coach at The Ohio State University and head coach of the gold medal-winning 2008 U.S. Women's National Team, will serve as head coach of the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team. Her assistant coaches are Jaime Totten, assistant women's coach at the University of Connecticut, and Steve Sertich, head women's coach at Bemidji State University. Dave Flint, who was recently announced as the head coach of the Northeastern University women's team, is the goaltending consultant.

Prough’s Women’s Tryout Camp Diary
Below is the journal that Prough kept for Michigan Hockey during her trip to Lake Placid, New York in late June for the USA Hockey Under-22 Tryout Camp at the Olympic Training Center.

Day 1 - Travel then all business
After flying into Albany, New York, a bus picked us up and took us to the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Lake Placid, about a two and half hour trip. As soon as we arrived at the OTC we immediately stowed our gear.

We had a meeting right away with the other camp participants and the USA Hockey coaches and staff. Meetings usually tend to be boring, but not this one. The tone was set for the rest of the camp by an inspiring highlight video of the Women’s USA National Team’s victory over Canada at the World Championships in April. This immediately showed us what it would take to be among the country’s best.

Feeling inspired we took part in our first on-ice practice. The players were divided into two teams, Red and Blue. (I was number 21 on the Red team). After just finishing my freshman year of Division I hockey at Mercyhurst College, playing against and with some great players, it was amazing to see that the level of play here was greatly increased. Two of the most notable areas where this was evident were in the strength and speed of the players.

Day 2 - Hit the ground running
We slept right at the OTC. All the girls trying out were on the second floor of the facility and there were three girls to a room. The dorms were nice and had a TV and a bathroom and shower.

The first morning we hit the ground running at 8 AM with physical testing in the weight room. We had to meet strict guidelines of weight amounts and repetitions. (The USA staff expected all the players to be in great physical condition when arriving at camp, so all players were prepared).
Starting today the outline for all practices would consist of drills, individual skills and game situations. And everything was done at a high tempo and an extremely intense pace.

And after a full day of hard work, it is essential to re-charge the battery, and this is where diet is important. Obviously you have to eat healthy to maintain a high- level of play. I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the OTC’s great cafeteria. I usually ate something light in the morning like a hard boiled egg and some toast with peanut butter. Then for lunch I would have a salad and some type of meat (usually chicken). For dinner, I had some type of pasta and chicken. There were a lot of food choices at the cafeteria, but I made sure to eat healthy so I could produce on and off the ice at tryouts.

We also had to weigh in and weigh out before and after each ice session. This helped keep track of the amount of liquid we lost, and allowed us to hydrate properly.

Day 3 – More testing
We met in the gym to complete the remainder of our physical testing. We did plyometric tests, which simply put are a series of power jumping exercises.

On ice practice today was position specific. As a defenseman, I worked on several drills to improve individual skills and team play. Everyone is a little more relaxed today after realizing what the coach’s expectations are in practice.

After today’s practice was over, we had a chance to have some fun! Both teams joined together and participated in an “ice-breaker” game designed to interact with new people. (I won’t get into detail, but it involved some bad singing and a lot of laughs).

Day 4 – Game day
Finally its time to play a game. The next four days, practice will be limited to once a day, as games will be played for the remainder of the camp. Today’s practice consisted of incorporating some basic systems that both teams would use during the games.

As I mentally prepared for the game my emotions were running high. This would be one of the biggest moments of my career and the anticipation was almost unbearable. As soon as the puck dropped, I was at ease again.

Moments like this remind me why I love to play hockey and compete. The two, 25-minute halves flew by. I was able to make some good plays and a mistake or two, but overall it was a pretty good first game.

Days 5-7 – AM practice, PM game
Throughout the next few days, we settled into a similar pattern: teams practiced in the morning, and then played a game at night. And by the end of the week, each one of the players was playing at her best. The intensity and competition was at its highest level, which made the days go by fast, but they were also extremely enjoyable.

Day 8 - Holding my breath
Today started out the same way as the others had, but with a huge exception. The team was going to be announced! As the final game ended, it was obvious that every single player had competed to her highest potential as the outcome would determine whether or not they made the team.

One thing we weren’t sure about was how the team would actually be chosen, and wow, what a surprise! They actually decided to name the team right in front of all us at the end of our final game today. (Talk about nerve-racking).

As the 22 players were announced, I was fortunate enough to hear my name called. I had no idea how much the odds were stacked against me, as only seven new players were added to this years roster. Needless to say, I was very proud to be chosen, and more importantly, to be given the opportunity to represent my country!

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