By Katie Mitchell
Executive Sports Editor
Costa sophomore Pilar Dugard makes her mark in the ice rink as she partakes in the competitive world of women’s ice hockey.
Throughout her childhood, Dugard has participated in a variety of sports, including figure skating, swimming, dancing and cross country. But the sport that stands out to her the most is ice hockey. Dugard started out on the ice as a figure skater when she was four years old. At age six, she decided to try hockey because her father is a hockey player.
“I immediately loved playing hockey more than the other sports because it gave me an adrena- line rush like no other sports I’ve played,” Dugard said. “I not only love the game, but I also love the community that surrounds it.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dugard was practicing on the ice six days a week. Now, she still does her best to be on the ice four to five times a week with additional off-ice training, including working on quickness as well as core and leg workouts. Dugard also spends an hour every day working on her shot and stick handling in her backyard. Finally, she uses weights to help build up her strength.
“Training has improved my game by helping me be able to read the plays better and have good vision of the ice,” Dugard said. “Training has also improved my quickness and ability to carry the puck and to score.”
According to Dugard, what is most challenging about the sport is the mental game. She believes that one must be able to use the skills one has learned and apply them in a game situation. According to Dugard, although the sport can be challenging, the camaraderie among her teammates and the fast speed of the game are what she considered to be her favorite aspects of the game.
“I overcome the challenges by visualizing the game and certain plays beforehand and by staying positive and always bouncing back after a mistake,” Dugard said. “My team makes it worth it because we don’t make each other feel guilty for mistakes, and we continue to cheer each other on and always point out something good we did on ice.”
At 16 years old, Dugard has had numerous accomplishments on the ice. Individually, she made two travel teams that she says have help her improve greatly as a player, and she was chosen along with a small group of girls to at- tend a selective camp in Colorado where she was observed by various college coaches and scouts. With her team, she has won numerous tournaments, most notable of which being the Fall Classic Tournament in California.
“Knowing that I have accomplished so much makes me so appreciative of the people who support me and helped me along this journey,” Dugard said. “It makes me feel proud of myself and my teammates because there is quite a lot of criticism of girls playing hockey, and knowing that we all pushed through that criticism and accomplished these amazing things makes me feel like anything is possible. It makes me feel like I can keep on accomplishing bigger things with hockey.”
Dugard is not planning on stopping her journey in hockey any time soon. As of now, she hopes to compete for a Division One college and, eventually, be a member of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL). “Hockey has made one of the greatest impacts on my life socially and athletically,” Dugard said. “Playing hockey relieves my stress, and the community around this sport has made me feel like anything is possible.” Dugard is not planning on stopping her journey in hockey any time soon. She hopes to one day compete for a Division I college and one day become a member of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL).
“Hockey has made one of the greatest impacts on my life,” Dugard said. “Playing hockey relieves my stress, and the community around this sport has made me feel safe, [and] it’s something I look forward to daily. Looking at the future, I can’t wait to experience new [hockey] opportunities and to continue playing the sport I love.”
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