As girls' hockey takes off, moms get in on the action

If you spent any time at an ice rink during the past 10 years, you noticed the change. The figure skating section, with its satin and sequins, shrank a little each year -- making room for hot pink hockey sticks and customized Bauer hockey skates with flowered laces.

Girls' hockey has grown exponentially over the past decade, pretty much since the US Women's National Team won the sport's first Olympic gold medal in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. On the South Shore, it's never been hotter.

Now the sight of so many of their daughters playing has helped inspire their mothers to jump in as well.

In February 2006, a group of South Shore women started their version of "mom's hockey." They first dubbed themselves the Desperate Hockey Moms, but due to internal opposition (some just couldn't stomach "desperate"), changed it to Hingham Women's Hockey. Donna Del Rosso recalls how it began:

"I was watching my daughter play and mentioned that they should have a hockey program for moms. John Clifton, director of Hingham Girls Hockey, was standing nearby and said, 'We can do that.' "

Clifton arranged for ice time and recruited Stephanie O'Sullivan, director of O'Sullivan Hockey Schools in Boston, to run the first mom clinic for $15 per player. O'Sullivan had played at Providence College in the early '90s, then on the US National Team. After her professional career ended in 2001, she started the school with her brother, Chris. Four of her seven brothers -- Shaun , Peter, Mark, and David -- are also instructors.

Del Rosso used her network of hockey moms to get the word out. On the first day of practice, they expected to see 10 women on the ice.

"We were blown away when 54 women came out that first morning to play," said Del Rosso.

Most women today over age 30 never had the chance to play youth hockey -- teams for girls and women didn't exist 20 years ago. If they had brothers, they'd play with them on a pond or maybe, like O'Sullivan, cut their hair short, call themselves Steve, and infiltrate the boys' team.

The first year for the Hingham Women's Hockey team was devoted to fundamentals. O'Sullivan ran her 54 novices through an hour of drills twice a week, covering such skills as stick handling and playing one's position.

By fall 2006, they were looking for opponents. Last December, the Hingham High School girls' team accepted an invitation to play.

With more than 20 of the moms opposing their daughters in the match, "We were actually competitive," Del Rosso said, unfazed by the younger team's lopsided win. "It was a lot of fun!"

Del Rosso said the typical skater in her group is a mom with either a son or daughter who plays. Most are novice skaters.

Karen O'Brien, who lives in Weymouth, has skated with the group since day one. Her father was one of a family of 13 in which all seven brothers played hockey, but Karen had never stepped foot on the ice. "I worked with Donna. We were librarians, and we jokingly talked about starting this league," she said.

While the majority of members originally were from Hingham, out of Del Rosso's 97-name mom's hockey e-mail list, today 47 are from other towns. They practice two mornings a week, September through March, and this year have added spring and summer sessions.

Hingham is by no means the only place a mom can lace up; recreational women's leagues recently have formed in Milton, Weymouth, Duxbury-Kingston, and Walpole.

Del Rosso wants to start one as well. "We have started discussions. As long as we can get our numbers up, we'll be able to start a league," says Del Rosso.

What do the husbands and children think of moms' playing? "They think it's funny," said Del Rosso. "I like to tell them that you're never too old to try something new."

In the early days, it was the kids who helped the moms with their gear.

"We would be standing in the locker room holding up various pieces of equipment and asking each other, 'Where do you think this goes?' Then someone would say, 'My son showed me. . .' " Del Rosso said.

Del Rosso tells of one mom from an all-hockey family who ran out of the house and grabbed what she thought was her hockey bag.

"She got to the rink and realized that she had grabbed her son's bag. She told us, 'Well, if the skates fit, I'm wearing his equipment."

As for so many of these women, the skates fit.

The Hingham Women's Hockey will begin its summer session Monday. The cost is $110 for 10 sessions, which meet at the Pilgrim Skating Arena in Hingham at 8:30 p.m. For more information, e-mail hinghamwomenshockey@comcast.net.

Amy van Aarem is a freelance writer in Hingham.