With the UVM Women’s Hockey season opening this weekend, I thought it was appropriate to share some insight regarding the connections and friendships that have formed over the years.
Whenever you go to a UVM Women’s Hockey game, you will see one spectator sitting in the same seat game after game. You will see her at the rink an hour before the game begins, chatting with players before they get dressed, talking with the maintenance team, giving players high fives and riding the zamboni. All this happens before the game even begins.
This routine has been going on for over 6 years. For the first two years, she was the only fan sitting in that section. But during the third year, a family with two girls sat next to her. This was not the norm so Kayla was taken back. In her world, it takes a lot of time to adjust to new situations and engage with new people. For the first two years Kayla would have limited interaction with the girls.
Things finally shifted in the last two years and Kayla began to socialize and play with the girls. Maybe it was the consistency of the family showing up every game, maybe it was the amount of years that they continued to come, or maybe it was because there were four girls now and the littlest was a newborn. Kayla began to share her snacks, bring her babies and play, and cheer for the UVM girls together. Every game she asks when they are going to be there, she runs and gives them hugs, she plays with them, and shares snacks. She has made new friends all because of her love for UVM hockey.
Now when you go to a UVM Women’s Hockey Game, you will see 5 girls under the age of 10 sitting in the same seats, giving high fives to the players, and cheering on their favorite team.