Archive: Around Town

On Sunday, September 23, and the friends and family of the late Bob Marcoux sponsored a clinic for the Ithaca Shooting Stars featuring USA Olympic Ice Hockey Player and Coach and 1998 Gold Medalist Alana Blahoski. Marcoux Day is in memory of one of Tompkins Girls Hockey Association (TGHA)'s biggest supporters and fans from 1979-1987.

Marcoux was a dedicated and proud hockey parent who truly loved being a part of the girls' hockey organization in Ithaca. He believed strongly in the values that TGHA teaches and the importance of athletics in the development of young girls. Mr. Marcoux died on December 30, 2004. His family and friends, in conjunction with the TGHA, honor his memory by providing this exciting "Bob Marcoux Day" program to help kick off the 2007-2008 Ithaca Shooting Stars' hockey season.

Eighteen girls hockey players from age 10 through 16 met with Alana off ice and on ice. They learned about her experiences as an Olympic athlete (1998 Gold Medal team) and coach (2006 US National Team), and as a D1 NCAA student athlete, and as a sportscaster.

She shared the story of how she started skating at age 6 in Minnesota as a way to spend time with her hockey-playing brothers and coach father. When it was announced that women's ice hockey was being added for the first time in the Olympics, she was making the decision to go to college to play hockey and softball at Providence College.


Lessons she shared were about adversity, support, appreciation and commitment.

Blahoski faced adversity when she didn't make the 2002 Olympic team with her peers from the 1998 team. It was a big disappointment but one that she had to take responsibility for herself. She thanked Coach Ben Smith and then went about finding a way to go to Salt Lake City on her own. She applied to work with NBC Sports and was assigned to be a 'spotter' watching games from the stands and alerting the producer and announcer from that vantage point.

When Smith invited her to try out for 2006, she declined and he offered her the position of assistant coach for the team that medaled in Torino. This work and her experience as a power skating instructor lead to her current employment at the Chelsea Piers rink in New York City, and her assignments as a sportcaster.

Blahoski spoke about the support of friends, family and teammates. It would be impossible to face adversity or good times without support.  She adds that it is important to show appreciation of the opportunities you have in the sport by giving 100% to your team and teammates.

Hockey players show commitment at whatever level they are playing. It is not a sport that is taken up casually. There are increasing opportunities for young women today. There are also more distractions of the culture and society that can get in the way of taking advantage of opportunities.

When asked about the experience of winning a Gold Medal, Blahoski said she was caught in the moment with her teammates. She said it was pure joy and the culmination of mental and physical preparation, and is the most amazing moment of her life.

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