Celebrating the next generation: these young women are showing the benefits of playing like a girl.

 “I wish there had been something like this for girls when I was a kid” says Megan MacDougall, the woman behind Dawson City’s youth girls’ hockey program, Play like a Girl.

When Megan started the program in 2017 with then Mayor Wayne Potoroka, they both had daughters playing in Dawson’s minor hockey league, but their daughters were the only girls in the league. “We decided to start Play like a Girl to see if it would spark more interest in girls’ hockey. In our first year, 24 girls signed up!”

This number is surprising in a town with a permanent population of only around 1,300. But why was there no interest in girls’ hockey prior to Play like a Girl? “We learned that it wasn’t about a lack of interest. Play like a Girl removes the barriers to girls playing hockey, which are mainly having the confidence to try, and accessibility to equipment” shares Megan.

Play like a Girl ensures young girls have an all-female environment where players feel safe to step onto a hockey rink – many for their first time – and take on the challenge of learning various hockey skills. 

“There’s a sisterhood that forms among the girls” says Megan. “I can’t underestimate the important part the older girls play. Many become paid assistant coaches and are the backbone of the program. They become role models and show the younger girls what’s achievable.”
 

The team puts on their game faces. 

The program’s overarching goal is to keep girls playing hockey and having fun, and there’s no doubt they’re succeeding at this goal. Emery MacDougall, Megan’s daughter who was 7 when the program started, now plays in Dawson’s co-ed minor hockey league and says she has no plans to stop playing hockey any time soon. 

“I play defense on a coed team, and sometimes it can be scary when a really good player is skating at you fast, but I always try to show that I’m just as good as any other player. I don’t want anyone to feel like they can beat me just because I’m a girl.”

At home, Emery practices her stick handling skills on a hockey balance board. She’s also taken up figure skating because she says it gives her more power in her stride and makes her a better hockey player overall.
 

Emery practices, plays, and improves - like a girl.

“Playing hockey always brings me a lot of joy. It’s also made me more confident and showed me that girls can be good at hockey. It’s not just a guy’s sport.”

Every Play like a Girl participants receive their own Play like a Girl jersey and hoodie and gets their own full set of hockey equipment for the duration of the program. With Northwestel as a sponsor, the price of the program has decreased and there are now resources to help if someone can’t pay the fee.

The 2022 season has 19 players spanning from grades 1 to high school. 

Break the Bias

For International Women’s Day 2022 (IWD) we’re celebrating women and girls involved in sports programs supported by Northwestel’s Community Investment program.

By sharing these stories and celebrating girls’ achievements in sport, we hope to inspire the next generation of northern female athletes and contribute to this year’s IWD goal to #BreaktheBias. Check out these other stories about women and girls who are breaking the bias in their own hometowns:

• Celebrating the next generation: these speed skaters prove keeping a positive mindset is everything
• Celebrating the next generation: these girls are breaking the bias one swish at a time

Did you miss last year’s IWD stories? Read our 2021 IWD community articles featuring some of Northwestel’s powerhouse female employees:

• It was dress pants to carhartt’s for this new Field Operations Manager;
• IT Manager acts as role model for daughters and girls everywhere;
• Unstoppable Account Executives like Carmen drive success at Northwestel;
• Busy Senior Marketing Manager pursues both career and family; and
• Excelling in the traditionally male dominated field of Health and Safety.