Ice
hockey team has fresh, new face on roster
By Kandace Hsu
On-line Forty-Niner
Katie
Roach is not your average girl. When she
isn't in school or at work, she is slamming
guys into boards and occasionally getting
into a few fights. In her free time, Roach
plays ice hockey.
 Roach
is a member of the Long Beach State Ice
Hockey Club team. Although Roach is not
the first girl to play with the team, she
is currently the only girl.
"Katie
holds her own and puts in just as much work
as any of the other guys on the team,"
teammate Ryan Feesago said. "In fact,
she usually has to work twice as hard to
get recognition because she is a girl.
"She
is a really good player and I would give
up my spot on the ice for her any day."
It
is Roach's first season with the nationally
ranked 49ers as the team enters the third
season in the American Collegiate Hockey
Association. LBSU has supported a club ice
hockey team for over 30 years, but only
recently has the team has joined a more
competitive league.
The
22-year-old defenseman has been playing
hockey for the last ten years. And for most
of her hockey career, Roach has been the
only girl on her team.
"Being
the only girl has been one of the most challenging
things about hockey, but it has also taught
me to be strong willed, confident and given
me strength," Roach said.
Roach's
younger brother began playing hockey first
and as soon as she saw him out on the ice,
she knew that she wanted to play too.
At
the age of ten, the criminal justice major
began to play hockey with a developmental
program in Anaheim.
Two
years later she transitioned into competitive
hockey with an all-boys' team and traveled
with her team all over Southern California.
At the same time, Roach joined an all-girls'
team that competed only in tournaments.
"Katie
is a hard worker and doesn't give up on
things," said former Beach City Lightning
and current 49er teammate Matt Yamamoto.
In
1997, the Orange County native had the opportunity
to train at the Olympic Training Development
Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. She trained with
some of the best female hockey players from
across the United States.
Roach
did not go unnoticed at the Development
Camp.
Many
East Coast colleges with reputable women's
ice hockey program such as Boston College
and the University of Maine tried to recruit
Roach for their program, but she wasn't
ready to leave home.
"I
was young and just not ready to leave my
family," Roach said.
After
high school, Roach stayed in California
and went to a local college.
She
continued to play hockey with an all-women's
team for two years, and, in 2001, her team
took the bronze medal home from the Women's
National Championship and was ranked No.
1 in the Pacific District.
Roach
transferred to LBSU this fall and has been
playing with the team ever since.
Three
days a week, she wakes up at 6:00 a.m. to
make it to practice on time and skates for
two hours before heading off to school.
Roach
has no aspirations to try out for the U.S.
Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team or make
it to the National Hockey League, but that
doesn't taint her love for the sport.
"One
of the things that I love about hockey is
the freedom to act on your intuition when
you're out on the ice," Roach said.
"The game is fast-paced and you have
to think quickly on your feet."
Like
many of her teammates, Roach doesn't play
hockey to get recognition from the school
nor does she play to become a professional
athlete.
Roach
simply loves hockey. It's her passion; it's
her life.
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