From a four year old little girl playing knee hockey at home to a junior in high school playing an international ice hockey tournament in Finland, for Joey Evans (jersey #17) hockey is her art of choice. 

With aspirations to play in college and even the Olympics, hockey is part of her everyday life. She plays center for two teams, an all girls club team and the coed team here at Cheyenne Mountain, and the differences between them are captivating. 

Hockey is a live, changing sport. Opportunities, rules, equipment, and facilities are constantly improving. Despite these advancements it’s a grueling and time-consuming sport. Joey Evan’s is a great example of the life dedication it takes to be a great hockey player.

Joey names Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid as some of her favorite famous players. They didn’t become superstars in just a year or two with practices here and there. Most of Joey’s freetime is spent on hockey. Whether it’s going from one late practice straight to the other on weeknights or early morning weight lifting on the weekends, she’s training with one of her teams. Regardless of her loss of time Joey adores hockey and all the people involved. 

“I definitely prefer my girls team, because overall I feel more included and I feel like I’m more a part of a team there,” Joey said.

Playing on a girls team and playing on a coed team are very different experiences. Not only are the relationships different but team bonding is also affected by the teams being club or a school team. Joey prefers the girls team overall because she describes a more supportive family vibe whereas the boys team is more of an older brother little brother relationship. Team bonding differs because of the dynamics of tournaments. On her club team Joey spends a lot more time at hotels, watching games, and even just being in the locker room with her teammates. The school and team doesn’t have those same opportunities for team bonding. 

“My biggest challenge is probably the misogyny a lot of coaches have against women and girls in the sport,” she said. Misogyny is something that any female athlete faces. Hockey has recently been evolving to include more women in the sport, but that doesn’t mean the mindsets change, too.