Girl's Hockey in AZ
Girl's youth hockey in Arizona was growing over the years, but this year saw a decrease in players by 8%.
While this may be surprising to others, people involved in the sport aren't surprised.
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," said Brian Hurley, a parent of a girl hockey player.
With the decreasing players in hockey, what are some reasons that people have been driving away from hockey?
High Prices
Hockey in every state is very expensive to play, as hockey is considered one of the most expensive sports to play, as the gear and the rink rentals are very pricey.
Heath Bauldry, the father of Liliana Bauldry who plays for the AZ Kachinas, said that he is considering moving his daughter out of state to make it less expensive.
The cost for her to play for the Kachinas is around $35,000, which doesn't include travel fees.
Each time that Liliana has to play out of state for tournaments, it costs Heath around $1,800 to $2,000 for the hotel and travel.
Limited Rinks
There are very few rinks in the Phoenix area, even with the large population.
"There are 12 sheets of ice in the 4th largest metropolitan area in the country," Hurley said.
With such a small amount of rinks, the price to rent them out is quite steep.
"It costs around $500 for an hour of ice time," said Bauldry. "In a place like Minnesota where there are more rinks, it's more like $150."
A map of all of the rinks in the Phoenix metro area.
Because of the lack of rinks in the area, most of the games that the Kachinas play are out of state.
"There's about 60 something games, and 85% were out of state," Hurley said.
Limited Opportunities
There are currently no high school hockey teams for girls, so some have to play on the boy's teams.
"Some kids are playing on the boys high school team," Hurley said. "Some play with 12-13 year old's."
Liliana plays high school hockey for the Basha Perry Bearcats, even though she doesn't go to that school.
She plays on the D2 Varsity team as a 15 year old, one team lower than the main D1 Varsity team.
She is one of two girls that plays on that team.
Her mother, Andrea, says that this year has been the most girl's she's seen play high school hockey.
Outside the high school teams, there are limited teams for girls to join.
The only club team in the state for girls to play in are the AZ Kachinas.
Liliana Bauldry playing defense for the Basha Perry Bearcats in their game against Mountain Ridge.