The crowd cheers in the stands and teammates rush the ice to celebrate. WA Varsity Girls’ Hockey has won their game and everyone is excited to see where their next season can go. Except that next season doesn’t happen.

COVID-19 affected many organizations, including the Girls’ Varsity Hockey team at WA, as they were not allowed to play last year. But, they are very excited about the opportunity to play this year.

The captains, seniors Abbie Gibson, Emma O’Regan, and Sarah Thompson are all looking forward to both the season as well as their leadership positions.

“I am very excited [to be captain]. It’s a huge responsibility and I’m very honored that people have the faith and trust in me,” O’Regan said. 

The captains have the responsibility of uniting the team after not playing together for so long. To overcome this challenge of weak team connection, they have had weekly practices for the past ten weeks.

“It’s definitely a leadership role and will take a lot but I’m excited to get the team together as a family. Back to the way it used to be,” Gibson said. 

They are extremely excited about the upcoming season because the last time any of them played for the hockey team was during the 2019 season, which hit the girls extremely hard.

“I was absolutely devastated. [Hockey] is such a fun experience and it’s a huge part of my high school memories, which made it very hard to have it ripped away from me,” O’Regan said.

They did not stop training though, even without a season. O’Regan has been playing hockey four to five times a week since August to prepare for the season. The team has also been practicing as a whole.

“We did a captain’s practice with one of our old coaches and that was definitely helpful to see everybody’s skill level and I think everyone is really excited to be back,” Gibson said. 

Not only did they have a captain’s practice, but they have also been practicing with their new coach, Jim Geraghty. 

“Every Sunday night, we have practices with our new coach [to prepare]. We’ve gotten to know him and each other a little bit, which has been helping us get ready,” Thompson said. 

Even though they have been preparing, there still are some nerves going into the season.

“I am a little nervous because we didn’t have a season last year and we didn’t have a goalie for a while but I’m super optimistic because we have new coaches and I think they will be great. I think it’s going to be a really great season and I’m excited,” Thompson said. 

Their new coach, Jim Geraghty is also hopeful about the upcoming season. Geraghty grew up in Peabody and is in their Hockey Hall of Fame. He played hockey at Brown University and was an assistant coach for the Irish National Hockey Team, and is well prepared to coach the team. Geraghty is eager to start the season and looks forward to their first scrimmage this Saturday, Dec. 4.

“I feel really good [about the season]. I think we’ve got a good group, so I’m really excited about it. The girls have been working really hard and I think we’ll have a great team,” Geraghty said.

While they are prepared and working hard, the new captains are facing challenges after missing their season. The team is looking at a whole new set of girls, only some of them knowing each other. However, the captains have plans to fix that. 

“The team needs a lot of help with getting closer because we didn’t have a season last year. We don’t really know each other as well as we should,” Thompson said. “I think that doing team bonding and getting to know each other better is going to help us on and off the ice.”

Though there will be obstacles going into the season, everyone is excited to play. 

“[This year] I want to have a good season, win some games, make a lot of memories, and create new friendships,” O’Regan said.