Many people at Mill Valley choose to stay away from the cold, but freshman Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick opts to spend her time in the freezing cold doing something she loves: playing hockey. After originally wanting to play a contact sport, Fitzpatrick explained how she started playing hockey. 

“I started playing hockey in my fifth grade year. I asked my dad to play football and he wouldn’t let me and my mom suggested hockey because she had a coworker who used to play and had children who played,” Fitzpatrick said. “I continue playing hockey because it is fun and I get to play with a lot of other people with similar passions.”

Fitzpatrick’s head coach Ed Depe described his coaching experience with her. 

“I have been coaching Fitzpatrick for three years,” Depe said. “She has a good attitude and good teamwork.”

In addition to playing for a girls hockey team, Fitzpatrick also plays on a coed team. She expressed the different dynamics of the two teams.

“On my girls team, I would say we are a lot closer and we hang out more. When we go out of town, we’ll stay at the same hotel,” Fitzpatrick said. “On my guys team, I’m close to the couple of girls on that team, but I’m not as close to the guys. The good thing about my guys team is that we can actually play coed hockey while we can’t on an all girls team.”

While expressing his favorite part about coaching Fitzpatrick, Depe described the differences between coaching the two genders. 

“My favorite part about coaching is her teamwork and girls are a lot easier to coach,” Depe said. “Right now girls hockey is the fastest growing girls sport in the United States. Girls actually want to learn, especially in hockey, because they want to prove they can be better than boys.” 

Despite enjoying playing for both teams, Fitzpatrick conveyed her preference to play with the girls.

“I would say that I prefer to play on my girls team because we get to travel and I know the people on the team well,” Fitzpatrick said. “However, I still like playing with my guys team because they’re more competitive.”

Her teammate, freshman Madelyn Shimmel, outlined Fitzpatrick as a teammate and her best qualities. 

“I started playing with Kaitlyn this year. We have a blast,” Shimmel said. “She slaps me before every practice. It’s kind of like a ritual, it’s fun. She’s funny and she knows how to have a good time.”

Due to hockey being a less popular sport in Kansas, Fitzpatrick enjoys being able to have a similar appreciation for the sport with her teammates and encourages others to give the sport a try. 

“My favorite part about playing hockey is the fact that I get to play with people who are my age and live in my area who share the same passion. Hockey isn’t a popular sport in Kansas, but I think it’s fun that anyone can start whenever they want to and it’s a relatively open sport,” Fitzpatrick said. “There are so many different people and personalities at the ice rink. Even if you don’t know how to play, it’s always relatively easy to start, and teams are always looking for new players.”