Marple Newtown Ice Hockey Matters

When you are the parent of a High School Senior, your life is consumed with bittersweet moments that you find yourself holding on to for dear life. The time has passed way too quickly, and you find yourself reflecting on past events, and photos that have shaped the life of your high school senior and solidified his or her legacy. A couple of days ago I received a call from my son in the middle of the day from school. There was an excitement in his voice as he asked me if I had ordered him a yearbook. After reassuring him that I had, I nostalgically remembered that feeling from when I was a senior in high school in 1988. There was always something very exciting about receiving your yearbook. As you page through, you relive moments and memories that have shaped your high school experiences. When I returned from work that day, the first thing I wanted to do as a high school senior parent was see the yearbook! Of course, the first thing is to turn to his senior portrait and tear up. Next, I paged to the dedication section to read my message to my son and to look at the picture of him as a 6-year-old when he played Marple Junior Tigers Football, and I cried some more. I briefly viewed all the senior portraits not believing my eyes. These kids that have been in our lives since the beginning of kindergarten, all grown up. Many of these students I have had the pleasure of coaching from the time they were 5 years old thru 8" grade, and to see them, and all their accomplishments now as seniors had me reeling with emotions. I looked through all the sports and clubs and activities and noticed the different interests and paths these students took during their time in high school. However, as I looked and cried and looked some more, | also noticed that there was absolutely nothing about the Marple Newtown Ice Hockey Club. I mean NOTHING. I was sure that I must be missing something. Marple Newtown Ice Hockey is a club sport, so I paged through the clubs and activities section of the yearbook again-NOTHING. Twenty-two clubs/activities showcased and another eleven listed under “not pictured”. Thirty-three club/activities, and not one documented mention of the Ice Hockey program. As the mom of a high school senior, my emotions are already all over the place so it did not take long to go from happy, sad, nervous, and excited to just plain angry.

For those you who are not aware, the high school ice hockey program in Marple Newtown is a struggling, but hopefully up and coming organization. This year there were six seniors on the team, two of them being four-year players. There were two young women on this team that were brave enough to shatter the glass ceiling and play in a predominantly male sport, at a varsity level. Our goalie had never been an ice hockey goalie, only lacrosse, but was brave enough to take on the challenge and do remarkably well. Other members of this team were begged to play, because we desperately needed players. Some were freshman brave enough to give it a shot. We barely had enough players and let’s be clear, the team did not win much. However, these players continued to show up and give it their all. As parents we pay a hefty sum for ice hockey. We pay because it means something to us and to our kids. Is it so much to ask that they be represented in the yearbook? Naturally, I ask my son why hockey is not in the yearbook. His response was that the leaders of our school were instructed to not align themselves with the ice hockey organization because of an unfortunate incident that took place in March of 2017 between Ridley and Central Bucks West at a Flyers Cup Game. There was a brawl which resulted in injuries and arrests. Allegedly, some time after this event, leaders from our district met with consultants who advised the school to distance themselves from the program, to the point where no announcements could even be made in school referencing this team. Meaning, no announcements to encourage students to attend games to support the team; no announcements to congratulate these student-athletes if they made the all-star team or won an award-NOTHING. It had to be like they did not exist. In my mind, this could not be correct. The focus for me was quickly shifting from emotional mom of senior to angry mom of a senior. How in the world could this happen? How in the world can you reference an event that occurred two years ago and in which our organization had ZERO to do with as a reason to exclude these student-athletes?

The scope now has gone even further than being excluded from the yearbook. After gathering some more information from players and parents, it both sickens and saddens me at the decisions made by our school leaders. You have knowingly and deliberately excluded a group of student-athletes. You have knowing and deliberately made them feel like they don’t really matter. Some of you have looked at these faces daily, but never really saw them. As I understand it, some of these student-athletes approached their school leaders about the issue, and yet were still pushed aside. In the world we live in today, school districts all over the country are making huge strides to promote inclusion. Marple Newtown High School will celebrate and clap their hands for certain students and not others. I can guarantee that if certain clubs were excluded from the yearbook, you would have claims of civil rights violations and discrimination.

The members of the ice hockey team have remained stoic about this issue, but I will argue that is because as teenagers they aren’t really grasping the full spectrum of it all. I sit here as a forty-eight-year-old parent who has lived a life they haven’t yet. I know as an adult how important a yearbook becomes to you later in life. They are your memories. Your proof of something you were a part of. I ask, how many of you have pulled out your year books to show your children or grandchildren? How many of you had your proof that you did something when your kids didn’t believe you? I ask our leaders and decision makers; how would it feel if your accomplishments were expunged from history? How would it feel if you had no documentation of your accomplishments? The cover of the yearbook this year says, “LEGACY WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND” There is a reason for that. As we grow older, our memories are all we have left. Someday they will wish they had been included in the yearbook. You have robbed these student-athletics of the recognition they deserved. As for the two young women on the team, you have robbed them of their “League of Their Own” moment. I ask that our district do better in the future. Pay attention to ALL students. Celebrate ALL students. I realize the world we live in today has made it a common occurrence to ban books, remove text of buildings, remove statues, and burn flags. It has become no big deal to change or erase history these days, but to the members of our district, I say NOT TODAY! NOT TODAY! This article will serve as their legacy. Each member of the Marple Newtown High School Ice Hockey Team can take this and make their own page in their yearbooks. YOU EXISTED! YOU MATTERED! If our district doesn’t want to recognize you, I will, and I know I do not stand alone. To the parents and other adult members involved in this organization, THANK YOU. Thank you for all that you have done for our kids in helping them live out their legacies through a sport they are passionate about.

Laurie DiCola

Proud Mother of a MNHS SENIOR & MNIHC PLAYER H#HNOTTODAY

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