“I will never take for granted all the opportunities that came along with playing sports as a young girl” – Kirsten Horney

Kirsten Horney is an ACHA hockey player for the Adrian College Bulldogs.

Below is Horney’s message for International Women’s Day.

“I’ve had to opportunity to play sports since a young age and I’ll forever be thankful for that, playing soccer and hockey gave me new opportunities to take with me for the rest of my life. I learned how to appreciate the small things in life, such as scoring my first goal, meeting new friends, overcoming hard times and I can honestly say those small things have shaped me to be who I am today. Being apart of different teams showed me how to be strong and competitive and passionate! I am so passionate about hockey and I never would of made it to where I am today if I didn’t start playing at a young age. I pushed myself through the good and bad days and I have made it to where I want to be.

I started off playing boys hockey, it was fun at first, I was friends with all the boys, they protected me like I was their sister but as I got older, times got tougher, boys got stronger and being a girl on a boys team was hard.
I do not regret starting off playing boys hockey, I’m actually very thankful for it, I never would have learned my skills and found love for the game without it, it may have been out of my comfort zone at first but I can honestly say it made me love the game even more. I will never take for granted all the opportunities that came along with playing sports as a young girl. Endless laughs with teammates, tournament wins, and being able to reach my dream of becoming a college athlete!

All I can say is find love and passion in a sport, work for your dreams because this life is full of beautiful opportunities when you work.”