SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (WJMN) – Over the weekend, a youth hockey camp was held at the Big Bear Ice Arena. The three-day camp focused on high intensity skill development opportunities in competitive, game-like situations for kids ages 6-13.
Soo native Abby Roque coached the camp for the second year in a row. Roque won silver with the United States Women’s Ice Hockey Team at the Winter Games in Beijing in 2022, and also helped the U.S. secure gold against Canada at the World Championships in 2023.
Roque was the only girl to play for Sault Sainte Marie’s Boys Varsity Team before attending The University of Wisconsin where she was voted Rookie of the Year in 2016, and was part of Wisconsin’s National Championship team in 2019. Abby was the first Native American to play on the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team, making her Olympic debut in 2022. Roques says she gains personal satisfaction in giving back to her hometown and helping to develop the skills of young players.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the shoe and without all of these people and coaches and other players that I played with who helped me get better and supported me. So, it’s great to come back and kind of do the same thing and hope that more and more kids can, you know, make it to a high level for hockey or any sport or whatever they want to do. And I think that’s the main thing is I think a lot of these kids just need to know that if they really put their mind to something and work hard that they can achieve anything they want to do,” said Roque.
Roque is already looking forward to next year’s hockey camp, urging younger players to sign up early as this very popular camp fills up fast. For more information, please check out Abby’s website at AbbyRoqueHockey.com
