Any parents who wonder if hockey teaches values should meet former Olympian Sami Jo Small.

They’ll sign their child up, guaranteed.

You can sense her warmth, grace and leadership from the first handshake and smile. The Mississauga Chiefs’ goaltender is grounded, committed and inspirational.

“Sami Jo Small is a person who works very hard at whatever she is doing,” says Sommer West, Small’s teammate and the Chiefs’ captain. “Sami is a good-hearted and kind person to all. She always takes the time to talk with kids and any fans waiting around to see her. She’s a great ambassador for the sport.”

At 33, Small is one of the generation of hockey players that had no choice but to play with the boys. She started skating at the age of two in her hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba and graduated to organized boys’ hockey at five years old, eventually ending up on the Winnipeg Warriors Midget AAA team. She also played men’s varsity hockey at Stanford University.

“I had an older brother and wanted to do everything he did, from skating on the outdoor rinks to street hockey to organized ‘real’ hockey,” says Small. “Women's hockey wasn't even on my radar because I rarely saw another girl playing and when I was growing up women's hockey wasn't an Olympic Sport.”

Her first time on the ice with other girls was when Small played in the Canada Winter Games for Team Manitoba. But she never envisioned playing women’s hockey at an elite level until 1997, when she decided to try out for the National team.

Small played with the Olympic team in 1998 and went on to win two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada in 2002 and 2006 as well as five world championships.

Now, she’s involved with Team Canada in a different way: Small is engaged to Billy Bridges of Canada’s Olympic sledge hockey team.

Small didn’t have any goaltending coaching before she joined Team Canada.

“I had learned all of my techniques from watching hockey on TV or reading books. In fact, I didn't really even know how to butterfly properly,” she says. “I had to work relentlessly on my technique.”

Small continues to work with goaltending coach Jamie McGuire on technique that puts her in the right position to make saves for the Mississauga Chiefs.

But making saves isn’t the only way Small is devoted to her Mississauga team. She’s a positive voice in the dressing room and a crucial voice for elite women’s hockey in Canada. As co-founder of the CWHL, she hopes that the league will become a model for female pro hockey around the world.

“I take great pride in having helped start the CWHL but with that comes the responsibility of ensuring its success,” says Small. “I hope that future generations of female hockey players will have a place to play elite hockey and take their rightful spot alongside NHLers as professional hockey players.”

 
“What’s underneath the equipment” is a weekly profile of a CWHL athlete written by Anne Douglas (www.herhockeyonline.com).