A brief chat with US hockey player Jenny Potter

I got a huge opportunity to speak with Jenny Potter before she went to practice today while she was hanging out at the P&G family house. It was last minute and I was unprepared and giddy with excitement, but it was great of Potter to take the time to dish about hockey. I had to furiously type to try and record her responses, so I’ll have to paraphrase.

Potter has been playing hockey for fun since she was very young, and has been on an organized team since 8^th grade.  She is one of the pioneers of women’s Olympic hockey, having played on all three previous Olympic teams.

Given that the USA and Canada have both powered through their opponents, I asked which other countries had the potential to catch up with them in the future.  She replied that she felt Finland and Sweden have both the ability and the skill to become as successful as the US, but their conditioning is the big issue for them.  Since the US team has had a big influx of money and the ability to train for the past 3 years, they have been “given a big boost.”  She feels both Finland and Sweden come on strong at first; it will just be a matter of more consistent training programs so they can last the full game in good form. She’s also encouraged by the World U18 Championships and thinks this will bring more attention to teams in other countries, and encourage more young women and girls to start playing at an earlier age.

Of course, I asked the question of the day.  We know that Canada has been able to get the best of the US on more than one occasion, so what does Potter think the US needs to do to achieve gold?  She feels that the US team needs to concentrate on playing their kind of game, that they are a “blue-collar, working, grinding team” with “great chemistry.”  She emphasized they should just “keep it simple” and play their best.

In one of my previous posts, I asked the readers how they felt about the no checking rule in women’s hockey, so I thought I’d see what Potter thinks.  It didn’t seem to be much of an issue for her.  She explained that there’s still a lot of body contact (as anyone who watches the game can confirm) they just don’t do a full slam against the boards. She “doesn’t take it personally” and does not think that it implies that women can’t take a body check.  It’s “just a different game” that allows them to focus on different skills.

When I asked if we’d see her in the next Olympics, she said she really wants to focus on the game she’s playing now and not look that far in the future.  She said you never know where life can take you, so she takes things as they come.  Potter is a mother of two and said the needs of her family will make some of the decisions. (My husband says the question was such a faux pas, and you never ask that of an athlete, but I had only five minutes to prepare!)

 Many thanks to Jenny Potter for taking the time out to talk with me.

Go USA