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Sara Parsons-Nice on Ice
By Mark N. Lardas
Sarah Parsons started playing hockey when she was five years old. She tells Listen magazine, “There was a pond near my home. Kids would play ice hockey there. I thought it looked fun, so I joined in. I don’t have older brothers or sisters who got me into it. I just started playing.” She began skating a course that would lead her to the 2006 Winter Olympics. At age 17, she became the youngest member, ever, of the American Women’s Hockey Team.
Once she started playing, she never stopped. At 5 she played in the Needham Youth Hockey Association in Massachusetts. At 8, she switched to the Boston Junior Terriers. It was primarily a boys team. There were not enough girls her age interested in hockey for a girls league. She wanted to play, so she played with the boys.
Were there any adverse reactions? “There was a little criticism, but not much. About once a year a parent did not like it and said so, but my coaches and parents were always supportive. The coaches always took time to help me.” The coaches may have been so supportive because she was so good. She could handle a puck like nobody’s business.
By her early teens she was on the girls hockey team at the Noble and Greenough School, a private school in Dedham, Massachusetts for grades 7 through 12. She spent five years there, setting school records for her performance on the ice. While at Nobles she scored 222 goals and 406 assists.
From there it was a short jump to the U.S. Women’s National Team. She helped Team USA win its first-ever gold medal at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women’s World Champion-ship.
The next stop was the 2006 Winter Olympics, in Torino, Italy. There, she helped the American Women’s Hockey Team win a bronze medal. “It was great,” she says of the experience. “People, especially my teammates were so nice. They made me feel welcome.”
Did she feel any pressure? After all, the Olympics are as big as it gets—and she was just 17. Sarah insists she did not. “What was really great about being the youngest member of the team was that there were no big expectations. I could just go out there and play. If I did great? Awesome. If not? People just said, ‘Oh, well.’”
So what do you do once you have reached the pinnacle of achievement in a sport and become a big celebrity? For Sarah, the answer was obvious: go back to school and finish up her education. “Education was always important to me. Education was always emphasized by my mom and dad. It always came first, before sports, before hockey.”
That attitude goes a long way toward illustrating why she won the 2004-2005 women’s John Carlton Memorial Trophy, given annually to a male and female high school senior in eastern Massachusetts. The award is given to the senior “who combines both exceptional hockey skills and academic excellence.” It was more than winning a gold medal at the Women’s World Champion-ship. It was excelling in her schoolwork.
Sarah views education as an investment in the future. “I need a life when I get done with hockey. An education will give me something afterward. Right now I am studying economics. It is fun.”
As for that celebrity thing? “I don’t think of myself that way. I am a hockey player. I am part of a team. I don’t think I am a public figure.”
Who does Sarah admire and emulate? “As far as hockey goes, Bobby Orr. I would listen to my dad talk about him. He was a great hockey player, but what really impressed me was what a humble person he was.”
“When I was on the Junior Terriers, we used to go to the BU [Boston University] games.” (They were the Terriers—the team the Junior Terriers were junior to.) “Chris Drury was playing for them then. I always wanted to play and look like Chris Drury [on the ice].”
What has been the biggest thrill for her so far? Sarah states, “it is a toss-up between being in the Olympics and helping to win the Women’s World Championship.” Sarah says her biggest memories of the Olympics were, “The first game, stepping out on the ice for the first time. And the opening ceremony was so impressive.”
Did she see any evidence of steroid use during the 2006 Olympics? It may have hit some of the other teams, but Sarah did not see any use of it in her corner of the games. “I did not see any steroid use when I was on the Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. It never came up.”
Sarah thinks that steroid use detracts from sports. “It takes away from the purity of the sport. It may be fun to watch a baseball player hit longer distances, because they are on steroids, but what does that do to sports records? Steroids hurt sports.”
Steroids are also dangerous to those who use them. States Sarah, “They are not worth it. They are not worth the risk.”
Sarah’s views on recreational drug use are just as strong. “Using drugs is not a good idea, in any way, shape, or form.”
What is the secret of her success? “A lot of hard work,” Sarah says. “That, and being at the right place at the right time. A lot of people gave me help when I needed it.”
What should someone in high school do to succeed? “Be yourself and work hard,” she says. “Also, remember that lots of things change between the start of your freshman year and when you graduate. Don’t get too concerned about little things.”
What does the future hold for Sarah Parsons? “I hope to graduate from college with an advanced degree. After grad school? Get a life I like, get a job that is fun, and have a family.”
Sounds like a game plan. |
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