Next up in our SUPER FEATURE of the USA Hockey women is Amanda Pelkey. (If you missed the first one, click here.)

Pelkey is a forward for the US Women's Hockey team and the Boston Pride. She was born in Vermont and liked it so much that she stayed and went to UVM, where she graduated from with a degree in Sport Science. She's been playing for Team USA since 2014.

Pelkey was immediately one of our faves in the hockey group. She's a RASCAL. There's nothing better than giggling during one of Walter's flip outs and no one better to do it with than Pelkey. The thing we realized about her is that, in any other group of people, she would be a little bit of a troublemaker. But in comparison to her teammates and, frankly, Kristie and Steph, Pelkey was (almost) angelic.

We asked her a few questions about hockey and about women's sports in general and her answers were on point.

Pelkey credits her success in hockey to a few things. One of them is her ability to stay calm in high pressure situations.

"For the most part, I have a laid back personality but also a competitive edge. I have been surrounded by some of the best leaders in sport since I was 15. I’ve learned so much from them from a leadership standpoint- but also how to carry myself day to day.
Another characteristic that stands out of mine is how approachable of a person I am. Whether that be with a teammate, family member or friend, I really value the importance of relationships.
With Team USA we always talk about having a “beginners mindset” in everything that we do. A simple phrase like that has really stuck with me throughout my career and has helped me grow to this point."

We went on to ask Pelkey about the relationship between us (professional female athletes) and younger female athletes. Part of our goal here at Sporting Chic is to empower women who play sports. We are extremely interested in exploring the relationship between female role models and the girls that are inspired by them.

"The impact that female professional athletes have on younger athletes is tremendous. When I reflect back on my childhood and falling in love with hockey, I was in awe by the older girls and their skill set. I used to watch them like a hawk, following every step they would make. It’s almost like nothing else in that moment mattered. I was glued to it. It’s not just the physical skill set that caught my attention. These older athletes knew how to bring a positive presence to a room. I believe that we do have a certain degree of responsibility to set a good example for younger athletes. The reasoning for that is simple: we used to be them and it got us to this point in our careers. Plus, if we can motivate young athletes to become passionate about something, the the future of sport is bright."

We LOVE that answer. So how exactly does Pelkey see the future of the sport growing and improving?

"Moving forward, I strongly believe that hockey will be an upcoming sport in America. When I was younger the opportunities to play hockey was limited. Most of us played with the boys growing up. It wasn’t until I was around 10 years old that girls hockey in Vermont started to become competitive. Ever since then, there are many girls programs around the country who compete at a very high level.
I believe that our National Team over the past few years is the team to change the dynamic of how America looks at hockey. It’s hard to come up with words to describe the group that we have. The first thing that comes to mind is pure passion for what we do. We’re a group that is going to fight for the future of our sport to create endless opportunities for the next generation. I believe that after 2018, whoever is fortunate enough to go to the Olympics, will help change the way all Americans view the sport."

We are so excited for next winter.

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