When the 2018 U.S. Olympic women’s ice hockey team defeated Canada 3-2, it secured its second gold medal in team history and the first since the inaugural gold medal in the event at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
The victory came in a shootout, the final goal scorer: Jocelyne Lamoureux of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Coincidentally, or maybe not so, the goal scored that tied the game to send it into a shootout was scored by non other than Jocelyne’s twin sister, Monique. Twenty years after their mother woke them up to witness the first Olympic women’s hockey gold medal, the Lamoureux sisters earned a gold medal themselves.
Jocelyne will be a featured celebrity athlete at the 2018 Sanford/HyVee Legends for Kids that features free clinics in a variety of sports and will share her experience, some tips to young athletes, and how to be a role model in women’s sports.
What got you started in sports?
My four older brothers. Our parents threw us into all different types of sports and activities that we wanted to participate in to keep up with our brothers. My sister and I were always participating together in everything we did. We didn’t always have a girls team to play on, so when we were on all-boys teams it was nice to have each other growing up.
What coaching figure(s) have really helped you in your athletic journey?
I have had a lot of great coaches. To play your best and reach your full potential you have to really enjoy what you are doing and learn to love the grind, and I had great coaches that helped me realize that. When we were younger our dad always encouraged hard work and giving our full effort and our mom was always watching the Olympics when they were on. So in ’98 when U.S. hockey was in the Olympics for the first time, I remember her waking us up to watch the gold medal match.
What opportunities off the ice have you been most excited about, and how does your success on/off the ice impact women’s sports?
I’ve been able to meet a lot of cool people with powerful initiatives that can truly make the world a better place. I think Serena Williams is a great ambassador for sports, especially women in sports and being a mom. Those are the type of people I model after, and use my sport as a stepping stone to make a positive impact for youth. One of the most fun things and events we do is being a part of the Snider youth hockey foundation in Philadelphia that provides equipment, ice times and rinks to over 3,000 kids annually who couldn’t participate in hockey otherwise. That’s one of the reasons I am excited about this opportunity and making an impact with the Legends organization. It’s a really cool initiative for people in Sioux Falls.
I think the gold medal victory can certainly push women’s hockey in the U.S., but our agreement reached due to the successful boycott a year ago for equality with U.S. hockey is something that can truly change the trajectory of women’s hockey around the world, and it’s something we are really proud of. As a team, we threatened to boycott the world championships two weeks before it started unless significant progress was made. Luckily we reached a favorable agreement that allowed us to be financially supported and gave us the resources to really focus and train in a way we hadn’t been able to, and hadn’t had the opportunity to do before. Now we get the full support to pursue women’s hockey even in non-Olympic years, and getting the awareness out there about women’s hockey gets more girls to participate and that creates opportunities at a grassroots level.
What is the greatest message you would want to share with young athletes?
Lessons you learn through sports truly impact the rest of your life. Being a part of a team and striving toward a common goal is really what helps you in the real world. It’s not about stats, it’s not about goals scored, it’s about how you treat people. There’s nothing like sports that teach you life lessons you can use everyday. I am really excited to be with Legends to help create an opportunity for young athletes and especially young girls to get involved in the sport of hockey.
Register
The Legends for Kids free clinics are offered June 7-9, children ages 5-18 are encouraged to attend. Register your child.
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Posted In Grand Forks, Health Information, Healthy Living, Orthopedics
