The Chicago Lady Cobras is a dek hockey team comprised of female athletes from

various parts of the Midwest. This team was initially put together for one purpose: to

compete at the Women's IDTA/ASHI US Nationals in Leominster, Massachusetts. 

 

Many of us were first introduced to dek hockey as children when we played in a coed

league in a southwest suburb of Chicago. There, we learned how to hold a hockey stick,

take a slapshot, and compete. We discovered the unique challenges and rewards of being

a female athlete in a predominantly male sport. Many of us were the only girls on our

teams, and we often heard the phrase, "Don't let a girl beat you to the ball!" But that didn't

stop us; it just empowered us to play harder. 

 

Opportunities to play dek hockey in our area were limited once we aged out of our former

league. Some players joined high school, league, and college ice hockey programs. 

 

Recently, old friends were reunited on a Midwestern women's ice hockey team. We heard about something that we did not even know existed: an adult women's national dek hockey tournament! Of course we decided to form a tournament team. Recruitment began immediately. We reached out to players we had not been in touch with since our formative hockey years. Through word of mouth, additional players were recruited--- one had never even held a hockey stick before joining the Chicago Lady Cobras.

 

Now that we have one national tournament under our belt. The Chicago Lady Cobras are ready to tackle new feats as a team. We will be competing in upcoming national tournaments.