Personality Over Gender, Youth Hockey Teams See Rise In Girls' Interest

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hockey season is underway, and kids' teams are growing with female players.

Twenty-five years ago, when Bobby Scott was coaching kids' hockey in the north suburbs, he had one girl on the team.

Now as hockey director at Glacier Ice Arena in Vernon Hills, about 10 percent of his 400 young hockey players are girls, playing alongside the boys.

Scott said the question of who likes to play hockey and who doesn't relates more to personality than gender.

"There are some girls who just love to mix it up. They love the physical side of hockey. They love to go in the corners and come out with the puck.

"And I think a little bit of it is, 'Yeah, hey - I just beat you in the corner. Whether you're a male or a female, it doesn't matter," Scott said.

The boys and girls on the various hockey teams range in age from 4- to 14-years old.

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• Steve Miller