Last week, two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Szabados made history by becoming the first woman to play for the Southern Professional Hockey League. Szabados, who helped the Canadians win at both the Vancouver and Sochi winter Olympics, signed as a goalie with the Columbus (Ga.) Cottonmouths.
The New York Times sent me to Columbus, along with Times’ staff writer Karen Crouse, to document her first day with the team.
The first thing I would like to say is that the Columbus Cottonmouths sure know to treat folks to some good ol’ Southern Hospitality. It was such a breath of fresh air to be given so much open access and to be surrounded by so many nice people. All too often, media relations people and coaching staffs for professional and collegiate teams just seem like they wish you weren’t there.
So I was extremely surprised and supremely grateful that the Cottonmouths’ head coach and general manager Jerome Bechard had no problems with me photographing inside the locker room while Szabados and the rest of the team prepared for their early morning practice.
I was so surprised to see that the story made the front page in Friday’s edition. Definitely a humbling experience.
Szabados had only been in Columbus for a few hours (she flew in the previous night) before lacing up her skates and getting to work. I’m sure it felt a little like home though, considering she played in college (yes, this is far from her first time being the only woman on the team) with three Cottomouths players, who were instrumental in getting her to come to Columbus.
After the morning practice, the team held a press conference (their first one in a few years) to announce Szabados’ arrival. The coolest thing about the press conference was seeing how many fans and community members showed up. I’ve been to more press conferences than I care to count, and they’re usually either completely empty of so full of media that reporters have a shouting contest to ask questions.
There were a handful of media representatives there, but most of the seats were filled with locals. And they asked just as many questions as the reporters did.
Cottonmouths’ Assistant Coach Brad Prefontaine opens the door for Szabados as they head into the team’s practice rink.
Szabados talks with teammate Chris Bailer during practice.
Szabados answers questions during her press conference.
Szabados with her teammate and former college teammate Kyle Johnson.
Nancy Odom, of Phenix City, Ala., gets a jersey signed by Szabados.
Just before Szabados took the ice for the first time as a Cottonmouth. She did not play in Thursday’s game, but did in Saturday’s game against the Knoxville Ice Bears. She stopped 12 of 13 shots on goal that night.
Szabados shares a moment with teammates Neilsson Arcibal (bottom) and Preston Shupe (left). See what I was talking about concerning hospitality? How many clubs would allow a photographer to shoot from the bench during the game?
Always the team player, Szabados opens the door for teammate Tom Maldonado during Thursday’s game.
You can read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/sports/hockey/a-female-trailblazers-next-notch.html?.
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