Middleton鈥檚 Madelyn Parmenter takes on the big boys on the ice
MIDDLETOWN, Md. — She skates the ice with no fear and a strong pride for being the only girl on Middletown High School’s hockey team. MHS junior Madelyn Parmenter has been playing hockey since she was six.
鈥淢ost times, I don’t feel like the only girl, since they are all my friends. I’ve known some of the boys since I was like 7, 8, or 9, from when I played on the boys’ Frederick Freeze team,鈥� she said.
Parmenter explained that, even though she’s known the boys forever, they can be a little rough.
鈥淚t is hard playing with boys. There is sort of a code in high school hockey where if you hit a girl, you will get hit. My team normally ‘protects’ me, but I can take it,鈥� Parmenter said. 鈥淚t was scary when I was a freshman on varsity, seeing a 6-foot male with a beard skating full speed at me, but as the years have gone by, I just accept I’m gonna get hit. It’s inevitable. Most of the time, it isn’t the big guys that hit me, but rather the ones the same size or a little bigger who know they can hit me 鈥� a confidence booster for them.鈥�
Even though Parmenter may be the only girl on the team, she works just as hard as the rest of them.
She said, 鈥淚’m on the ice around six times a week, and off the ice, I play field hockey and lacrosse, so I pretty much stay in shape. It does take up a big chunk of my life, since my home rink is an hour away. Most nights, I get back at around 11:30.鈥�
Despite the intense work, Parmenter explains why she loves the sport. 鈥淚 like the challenge. It’s a different skill set than most sports. You have to learn how to skate before you can even play.鈥�
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