ON THE FRINGE
A passion for hockey ignites women's team

By Tim Povtak | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted July 1, 2003

Their love may have faded.

Their love of hockey has not.

Later this month, the fledging Orlando Sirens will resume their first full season in the Florida Women's Hockey League only because founders Leigh and David Varecka, the captain and coach, wife and husband, respectively, believed this team was too important to let fail.

After three years of marriage, they have separated, begun to lead separate lives, but together they have held this team together, determined to see the Sirens survive and eventually thrive.

" We're both totally committed to this team," Leigh said after Sunday's practice at RDV Sportsplex. "We've put too much time and effort into this to think we'd let it all fall apart because of our personal lives."

For the first time in Florida, the women have a hockey league of their own. And Central Florida now has the Sirens, a team in its infancy, trying to carve a niche that will last -- despite past efforts that have failed.
Although some of the better players also play on various men's recreational teams, it's the Sirens who have caught their full attention, giving them a game to play with -- and against -- other women.

" This is so much more enjoyable," said Candy McCrary, whose husband serves as an assistant coach. "I'd given up playing with the men. I was getting hurt too often, but when I heard this team was starting up, I knew it was time to dust off my skates again. You can still hit, and be hit back, but it's against women of comparable strength."

Ages range from 18 to 50

The Sirens have 24 women on the roster, but the skill level is as wide-ranging as the ages. They are as young as 18 and as old as 50. They range from players with no previous hockey experience to a former college player from the Northeast, where women's hockey is considerably more established.

" They've come a long way," David Varecka said. "For some of the women who play in men's leagues, not much is asked of them, but here, they have to be leaders. They have to play with a little bit of cockiness, and that's been enjoyable to see them progress."

Their first practice was in November, in Rockledge where ice time is less expensive. Seven players came, and only two ever had played organized hockey. Some didn't know how to get over the boards and onto the ice without help.

Soon, other players started joining, and practices were moved to Maitland and RDV Sportsplex. The costs, though, have risen. Players must buy their own equipment and share the price of ice time for each practice, which can be as much as $250 for 90 minutes on Sundays.

The Sirens must share a locker room with men, who sometimes can forget there are women in the room. On one recent tournament in Fort Myers, six women shared a hotel room to cut costs. But they returned with their first, first-place trophy, winning the Women's Sunshine State Games Novice Division.

When they go to tournaments now, they try to take enough players for two teams, playing in both the C-level and novice divisions. In practices, though, everyone plays together. Most of Sunday's practice was spent on drills, trying to improve the overall skill level.

" We're here to stay, absolutely," said Leigh Hird Varecka, 28, who played on a women's prep-school hockey team in New York. "When I first moved to Central Florida, I was surprised there was nowhere for the women to play, except on a men's team. But I could see the interest was there."

The Sirens' next game is July 20 against the Fort Lauderdale Freeze, one of the more established teams in the state. There also are league teams in Tampa/Brandon, Fort Myers and Jacksonville.

Keep that cell phone handy

Varecka is a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, often traveling during the day but always close to a cell phone where she keeps in touch with the other players.

McCrary, 50, is the team's oldest player. She is the recreation director for the city of Apopka. She used to play football, but she quit when she tore ligaments in her knee. She started inline skating in the mid-1990s, then transferred that hobby into ice hockey. But the last time she played with the men, she left the ice with a broken thumb.

" My boss thinks I'm crazy, but I love this, what we're doing now," she said. "I don't feel like the oldest. As long as I'm healthy, I don't think age is a factor."

Bridget Clark, 42, is an admitted hockey nut, driving from her home in Jacksonville to play for the Sirens. Often, though, she stops along the way, at the ice rink in Daytona Beach for private skating lessons. Before Sirens practice begins, she is usually on the ice taking an instructional hockey class with men.
Her daughter, Krystle Clark, 18, was recruited to join the Sirens as a goalie. Her son plays recreational hockey in a men's league.

" I don't know what it was that hooked me on hockey," said Bridget Clark, who works as an office secretary in Jacksonville during the week. "I grew up in Hawaii, where there isn't much ice, but I always was fascinated by ice stuff in the Sears catalog. I just can't get enough of it now."

Julie Rodeghier, 21, is a senior at UCF and a graduate of Colonial High School. She also plays on a B-level men's recreational team. She used to play street hockey, then discovered something even better -- ice hockey. She has become one of the Sirens' best players.

Lorraine Snyder, 37, is an insurance-company claims adjuster who grew up in New York, where her father was a huge Islanders fan. He was thrilled to hear his daughter was playing hockey again. Her husband comes to the games now. She has been with the Vareckas from the start.

Kanako Yoshioka, 26, is from Tokyo, moving here on a business venture for at least the next six months. She joined the team Sunday, and her skill level was plenty good enough to fit right in with the Sirens.

Both Kara Kobylka, a student at UCF, and Christine Mercnik, who works at the new Ritz Carlton, are from the Toronto area, which has plenty of women's ice hockey.

Their love of hockey shows

The team, though, revolves around the Vareckas, who still share the organizational work, in addition to coaching (David) and playing (Leigh).

Hockey is how they first met -- when she crashed the party and became the only woman on a men's recreational team near Rochester, N.Y. -- while she was still in college.

He was a gritty defensiveman. She was a left wing with finesse. They fell in love with the other's game, then fell in love with each other.

Hockey now a is constant thread that has held them together. Their marriage has hit a bump, but their commitment to this team never has wavered.

" It's a fun thing we still have together," Leigh said. "We were driving to practice together today, kind of joking about it. And it may have helped put us back on the road to recovery."

Tim Povtak can be reached
at tpovtak@orlandosentinel.com.


 
 
 
 
Last updated Friday, July 6, 2012
 
 
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