Medicine Bundle Speech

Medicine Bundle Speech Outline
I. Introduction: People would say ‘Girls don’t play hockey. Girls don’t skate.’ I would say ‘watch this’. This quote was stated by the first women to play full-time professional hockey in a position other than goalie, Hailey Wickenheiser. This extremely talented female went against all the odds and came out on top. How awesome is that?? If you ask me, a fellow female hockey player, I’d say it’s pretty incredible. I have been playing competitive hockey for the past 14 years of my life. Growing up playing a male dominate sport has impacted my life tremendously and in so many ways has helped form me into the person I am today. Fighting the never ending battle to be accepted and respected in a man’s sport, developing the thoughts and emotions of a man, and the impact it has made on mine and my father’s relationship over the years are only a few areas in my life that hockey has impacted.
II. Transition Statement:

Being a female playing a man’s sport is not easy, there is a high standard that you must live up to.
a. First off men are naturally more competitive. Most men, in any male dominated sport, feel as though they have to prove their dominance to the female players, which in most cases results in some kind of injury. Over time I realized that I needed to learn to overcome the pain and fight back. I couldn’t allow them to intimidate me.
b. Secondly as a female I’ve always had to fight for my spot on the team that I was I playing for. To be respected in the men’s hockey world I quickly discovered that I had to strive to not only be the best female, but the best hockey player on the ice. This kind of demanding life style was difficult to adjust to at first and the stress, well it could be pretty overwhelming sometimes, but overall out-come and all the strengths that I have gained through it all has made me not only a stronger a hockey player but also a much stronger individual in general.

III. Transition Statement:
So with that said, we move along to next topic at hand, developing an understanding of a man’s thoughts and emotions. Now many of you may be wondering what exactly it is I mean by this statement. Well as all of us already know men and woman have different ways of thinking; dealing with emotions, and senses of humor. Growing up playing hockey, I ended up having pretty much all male friends; therefore I didn’t really get to experience the typical girl lingo, never really had much drama to deal with, and I missed out on all the hot gossip.
a. The way I socially interact with people, and my way of thinking along with my smart remarks, and blunt personality come from my experiences hanging out with the guys, and also a majority of it comes from what we like to call locker room talk. Urban Dictionary defines locker room talk as ‘the crude, vulgar, offensive, and often sexual trade of comments guys pass to each other. Exists solely for the purpose of male comedy and is not meant to be taken seriously’. This quote sums it perfectly. You learn real quickly not to take things personally.
b. Within my group of friends male and female, I’m referred to as one of the guys. Now there was a time when I wasn’t exactly thrilled about that, but over the years I have developed an appreciation for it. My friends have expressed to me time and time again that it’s their favorite part about me and it’s what makes me the strong, down to earth, free spirited, understanding and laid back female I am today.
IV. Transition Statement:
Now let me take you back to where it all began. I was the first born female to my family in almost 3 generations. My father, who is from the east coast, and he grew up playing hockey, made it very clear to me as a child that he was hoping for a son. I wanted to be a dancer, as most little girls do, but no he insisted I played hockey instead.
a. I didn’t want to play hockey, I wanted to be a princess in a castle, or a mermaid under the sea, but instead I tossed those dreams to the side and proceeded to play hockey. For the first few years I had so much resentment towards my dad. Wouldn’t you? As time progressed and I started to understand and develop a strong feel for the game, my resentment slowing started to subside.
b. I could of been a dancer or a cheerleader, but because of my dad's decision to put me in hockey I've become a unique, strong, fear less, individual and have broken through so many barriers that most people never thought a female could do. For that, I am so very thankful and as the years fly by, it’s been what keeps us close.
V. Conclusion:
As Haliey Wickenheiser so wisely stated, ‘People would say ‘Girls don’t play hockey. Girls don’t skate.’ I would say ‘watch this’.’ She proves that just because we as females are smaller and less competitive by nature doesn’t mean we can’t overcome these high boundaries and come out on top. Fighting the never ending battle to be accepted and respected in a man’s sport, developing the thoughts and emotions of a man, and the impact it has made on mine and my father’s relationship over the years are only a few areas in my life that hockey has impacted but they are defiantly the most important.