Black women have been shattering barriers in sports for some time. When the college hockey season begins later this year, Kelsey Koelzer will officially add her name to this list of sports pioneers.
In 2019, at the age of 24, Kelsey Koelzer was hired by Arcadia University as the head coach of the women’s hockey team. This made Koelzer the first Black ice hockey head coach in the history of the sport.
Not first Black female NCAA ice hockey coach. No.
First Black ice hockey head coach, period.
Yet it’s not as simple or glorious as it sounds. You see, Arcadia doesn’t have a women’s hockey team yet. They’re slated to begin their inaugural season later his year. That means Koelzer has had to recruit, build and coach the team from scratch. But it’s something she convinced the university that she could do.
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