Chloe Glass on the Gaps in Women's Hockey and Founding the Girls and Women's Hockey Academy
Chloe Glass turned her experiences on the ice, and the gaps therein, into the foundation that would be the Girls and Women's Hockey Academy.
Growing up in a household full of passionate hockey fans, it seemed only a matter of time before Chloe Glass would follow in those same footsteps.
Our full conversation is also available on YouTube here.
“I have one older brother, and as soon as he was old enough to hit the ice, I was like, ‘Alright, when can I start,” Chloe recalled. “I have three brothers who play, so between the four of us and my dad, it’s just something that is in our family.” And it was that passion and drive that have led Chloe on a lifelong journey in the hockey space, whether on the ice, behind the bench, or educating the next generation.
A graduate of Lebanon Valley College, where she played for five seasons and made the MAC Academic Honour Roll, Chloe also helped set traditions and the foundation for women’s hockey within the program. It was new, having hired its first full-time head coach in her first year with the team, but the experiences helped her to become a better teammate and leader, culminating in being named captain in her senior year.
“Our goal,” Chloe said, “was that we wanted to leave a legacy and make sure that every year after we left was going to be better than when we were there.”
Following her collegiate career, Chloe went overseas to play for EC Bergkamener Bären in the DFEL before ultimately retiring from the game.
“I’ve never not finished a hockey season before and I’ve never not known what I was going to do the next season,” she said. “So it was really difficult transitioning out of playing and just not knowing what my next move was.” Despite the uncertainty, Chloe ended up with an opportunity to move behind the bench as a coach for U-14 through U-19 ages. That experience helped spark the earliest seeds of the Girls and Women’s Hockey Academy. You see, Chloe ended up gaining a new perspective from coaching, including how important things like nutrition were in ensuring the players were properly fuelled for each practice. But more than just talking to her players about such topics, Chloe wanted experts to teach and educate them.
“I want them to have the best people available to talk to,” said Chloe, “because it’s great if there’s coaches talking about it, but the coaches may not always realize what they’re talking about, which was my experience.” Enter the Girls and Women’s Hockey Academy, whose mission is to empower “female hockey players through webinars, camps, and team workshops all led by professional athletes and coaches.”
“It really started with ‘if I were to put something like this together, I wonder what people are out there that we could assemble,” Chloe said. “And it’s not just about having these experts in their fields but also having people who can serve as good role models for girls hockey players.”
The Girls and Women’s Hockey Academy offers programs on nutrition, mental performance, injury prevention and recovery, hockey recruiting education, and so much more. And what’s important about the work they do is that it’s an all-women team that understands that a “one size fits all” approach is not successful in either the short or long term. “We’re just here to serve the next generation of hockey players in whatever way makes the most sense for them,” said Chloe.
Those programs, which will resume next month and include virtual options, are selected based on feedback from players, coaches and parents, making the process collaborative for both facilitators and participants.
“When people reach out saying ‘Oh, I’m interested in this topic,’” Chloe said, “it’s typically just a matter of reaching out to one of my coaches and saying, ‘Hey, are you interested in covering this? ‘” Do you think this is something that you could talk on? Let’s figure out a time.’” And these seminars, whether virtual or in person, such as February’s alongside the PWHL’s New York Sirens, continue to demonstrate how large a gap there is in ensuring that female hockey players truly have the resources to be successful. And it underscores the importance of organizations such as the Girls and Women’s Hockey Academy in connecting the best athletes, coaches, and industry leaders with the next generation, providing them with the tools, resources, and habits that will help ensure a long, successful career, both on and off the ice.
A passion for Chloe Glass, which started all those years ago while she was on the ice with her brothers and her dad and remains one of her fondest hockey memories, has transformed into an organization that has already impacted the lives of so many. And the best part? She’s only just getting started.
Our full conversation is also available on YouTube here.