USA Hockey Adult Hockey

Hilary McNeish is not just passionate about hockey, she’s passionate about women’s hockey … in Colorado. Her love of the game and hard work as executive director of the Women’s Association of Colorado Hockey (WACH) has spurred growth in numbers all across the state.

The WACH began as a small operation in 1983 and has since blossomed into 40 teams throughout six separate divisions, consisting of Mountain, B2, B1, A Mountain, A Front Range and U19/College. The league is USA Hockey’s fifth largest in terms of adult female players and is expected to grow by four-to-six teams next season.

The pride and tradition in this league is strong.

“We have a deep history of strong teams that have been in the league since the very beginning,” says McNeish.

We recently caught up with one of our nation’s leading ambassadors for women’s hockey.

AH: How long have you been WACH’s executive director?

McNeish: This is my sixth year as the executive director. I was previously the secretary of the league for two years. I was lucky to follow a real pioneer of women’s and girls’ hockey, Ellen Yeiser, who, without her years of serving WACH, we would not be where we are today.

AH: How did you first get into hockey?

McNeish: My parents are both graduates from the University of Denver. As a kid, I went to many DU hockey games, as well as watching the Colorado Rockies (former NHL team). When the Colorado Avalanche came to town, I was encouraged by many of my hockey friends to start playing. I started playing as an adult with a wonderful organization called the Denver Women’s Hockey League (DWHL). It’s a league based on beginner women’s hockey to learn and play free from harassment in a great learning environment.

AH: There is some tremendous growth in women’s hockey in the U.S. today. Why?

McNeish: There is tremendous growth in girls’ and women’s hockey across the state in Colorado! Three years ago, the WACH added three girls’ U19AA teams to our league, and that has now grown into its own division of U19/College. I think it’s a great opportunity for girls to know that there is women’s [adult] hockey after youth hockey. There are also leagues such as the DWHL and the Mountain Women’s Hockey League that are dedicated to beginner women’s hockey players. Both leagues are big reasons for the growth of our lower divisions.

AH: So adult hockey is not just for a bunch of old men who drink beer?

McNeish: It can be that, but it is also a great place for women to bond, travel, and share some really good times on and off the ice together.

AH: Do the ladies have that team bond that we hear about so much with the men?

McNeish: I think that some women’s teams have stronger bonds. With the WACH, there is a lot of travel throughout Colorado and beyond. The women of the WACH spend many weekends away from their families with their “hockey families,” and this often brings out some of the best friendships and teams!

AH: What are you doing to grow WACH?

McNeish: I personally try to do as much in my free time as possible to grow the game for girls and women. I am a Level 4 hockey coach that was invited in 2008 to go to Lake Placid with the National Women’s Team for a coaching seminar. I have coached girls’ hockey for six years in a program that started from scratch with a girls’ division within a current boys’ program. I participate in “One Goal” events and have been a Girls’ State Camp Evaluator since 2008. I served on the board of the DWHL for seven years, helping it grow from 63 to more than 900 members.

For the WACH, it’s been a personal goal of mine to work with corporate sponsors to get them involved in helping defer costs for the teams and to hopefully someday be able to pay their executive director and board. The WACH currently has an amazing board of all volunteers that put in so many countless hours to the league they love. I would enjoy seeing them have a payoff.

I also love to encourage women to invite their friends, co-workers and other women and girls they may know to just try it—borrow gear and hit the ice!

AH: What do you tell someone who’s nervous to join? What are some of the reasons they are nervous or skeptical?

McNeish: My mom has played hockey for years, and she’s 67. The best part of women’s and girls’ hockey is there is a place for everyone. The WACH offers so many levels so that each woman that plays can play within her own skill set and feel comfortable with her competition. Many folks watch NHL or NCAA men’s hockey games and think that we all check and hit. With women’s and girls’ hockey, I think it’s one of the purest forms of hockey, because it takes skill to maneuver the puck around the ice where you want it to be with no checking allowed.