March 17, 2014

I had the pleasure of attending my first but the clubs “fifteenth” Pony Tail hockey tournament this weekend. The premiere Mid-Atlantic all girls hockey tournament sponsored by the Baltimore Rapids, a member of the Baltimore Youth Hockey Club. To say that I was surprised with the level of play and the overwhelming size and energy of this event would be an understatement.

It started with trying to find an empty parking space at the large Laurel parking lot. There was a buzz and energy that hit you as soon as you opened the door to the arena. There were multiple vendors in the lobby trying to sell everything from action pictures of the players to t-shirts with Logos like “Boys may have started hockey, but girls perfected it.” You needed to be on your guard to keep from being run over by the constant flow of girls pulling hockey bags to and from dressing rooms.

The level of play was something that I never anticipated. If it was not for the pony tails coming from underneath the helmets I would not have believed it was girls playing. The Rapids under 12 C team after a difficult season won their first three games in a convincing style. Coach Summers has done an unbelievable job in bringing this Rapid team together. 

The final game was a nail biter against the Hershey Junior Bears that had the large audience of parents and supporters screaming encouragement from the stands. The game was tied 4-4 after regulation play with the Rapids scoring a late game goal to tie it up. After five minutes of back and forth overtime hockey it went to a three player shootout that ended in a 1 to 0 win for Hershey. It was an unbelievably exciting game and I was proud to be associated with such a great hockey team, coaches, parents, volunteers and organizers. 

A big shout-out to Pony Tail Director Jeff Solomon. Jeff with the help of Dave Hudson has been organizing this tournament for 11 years. The tremendous amount of work and effort that is required to make this experience competitive and fun for all involved is incredible. It is one thing to do this when you have a child involved but for both of these guys their children have already moved on from this tournament. They have been doing this because of their dedication to this great experience for girl hockey players along the entire east coast. Both Jeff and Dave are stepping down this year but have promised to help with the transition as others try to fill their big shoes. 

As I watched the faces of some these girls as they left the ice it was like beams of light were projecting from their faces. I have no doubt that this weekend’s Pony Tail tournament created memories for these girls that will last a life time.

A heart felt thank you to all of the people that made this event happen.

Rob Snow
President BYHC