Tough Enough
Petite Pickles holds Her Own on the Ice
- By Christine Williams

Pickles skates out for her team's victorious '99 state championship game.

Payback Time
Michelle Pickles of Crown Point, Ind. has been coming to summer hockey camp at FSU for nine summers. "The first few years, I attended the boys' sessions with my brother, Tom. At first it was because I was too young for the girls' sessions. Then it just seemed easier for my parents to send us both at the same time, so I continued playing on the boys' team."

This year Pickles came to hockey camp as a counselor and student coach, sharing what she learned from her years as a player and referee. "I'm a Level II referee," said Pickles, who for the past four years was a game referee for boys' and girls' teams in her area. "I ref the boys' high-school team at St. John's rink in Indiana, and I reffed the state championship game for Team Illinois' Squirt Team (players ages 8 to 11) last spring."

Off the ice, Pickles wears a softer look.

Boys Against the Girls
Pickles, a junior at Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., has been playing hockey since she was 7 years old. With no girls' hockey team at her school, Michelle became the first girl to qualify for the boys' team. She wasn't always welcome.
"The guys on my JV team really didn't want me there," said Pickles. "A few of their friends hadn't made the cut, and they weren't happy that I was picked for the team. But I did make some good friends on that team, and we've stayed friends."

Now skating with an all-girl "travel team" sponsored by AAA, she reflects on the difference. "The girls are more sincere. When we all shake hands at the end of the game, we're friends again. The guys weren't always able to let it go that fast."

"I dislocated my jaw in a game
on my 16th birthday."
- Michelle Pickles

Taking Her Lumps
Michelle's sport requires heavy parental involvement. "We travel to Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois for games," said Karen Pickles, Michelle's mother. "The parents drive."

Karen takes her daughter's injuries in stride. "Michelle's had her shoulder and her jaw dislocated," she said calmly. "It didn't deter her in the least." Both injuries occurred during all-girls' games.

"I dislocated my jaw in a game on my 16th birthday," said Michelle. "We were at the Polar Bear tournament in Connecticut. I had just broken out of the zone, and this girl was straddling the boards. I was hit from behind, and when I fell, my jaw hit the girl's skate."

Michelle finished the game before realizing the extent of her injury. "I tried to close my mouth and heard this loud pop. Then I felt the pain, and my mouth wouldn't open or close."

So far, her smile is intact. "I have very straight teeth," she laughed.

From the Midgets to the Majors
Although she expects women's hockey to grow as a sport, participation is limited among her peer group. "None of my (girl) friends at home show any interest in playing hockey, but they come to the games."

All that roughing and slashing and cross checking doesn't scare Pickles. "I grew up with these guys, and I've been playing hockey most of my life. I'm proud of the goals I've achieved."

While her career objectives are still fuzzy ("I'm leaning toward teaching high-school students."), her hockey goals are crystal clear. "I want to play on a women's college team, and I would absolutely love to play in the Olympics."

It could happen. "Our team gets pretty good publicity, and we have lots of scouts coming out. This past spring, I made the next-to-last cut at the district tryouts in Illinois. The finalists went to Lake Placid in New York," she said wistfully.

"I plan to try again."