Spotlight on Business: How were you introduced to hockey? What were the early days like playing on what then would have been considered a boys’ team and sport? Do you remember encountering any obstacles or were there any challenges that you faced in your early playing days? Jayna Hefford: I’ve always had such a passion for the game. I have a brother who’s two-and-a-half years older than I am, and he played hockey. My parents were very involved throughout our careers, and Hockey Night in Canada was a tradition in our home. So, I’m not sure if it was an innate passion I had or something that was learned by watching my brother. But for as long as I can remember, it’s all I wanted to do. “For as long as I can remember, it’s all I wanted to do.” I grew up in Kingston, Ontario and I started playing when I was about six years old. There weren’t a lot of girls playing at the time. When I started there were about three girls/women’s teams in all of Kingston so played in a boys’ hockey league. From my experience, it was great. I felt like I had a lot of support from the coaches and my teammates were my best friends. But I think there was always a little bit of the undertone when you have a girl on a boys’ team and potentially taking a spot, but it was never voiced to me. I am sure some naysayers were thinking there’s no real future in it, as there was no women’s professional league and women’s hockey wasn’t in the Olympics. I had an amazing, supportive family who always encouraged me to play even if I was the only girl on the team. They could see how much I loved it and how hard I was willing to work towards getting better at the game.
SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 3 13
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