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| Cammi Granato:
Captain, U.S. Women's Hockey Team
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 | About Cammi Granato |
| Cammi Granato was Captain of the gold medal-winning U.S. Women's Olympic Ice Hockey team. She has played hockey since she was five years old and is one of the top five women players in the world. |
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| The Interview |
GCD: What do you love most about playing hockey?
CG: I love the teamwork. It's very rewarding to see how everyone can pull together and how successful you can be when you're that unified. It's also a fun sport because there are so many skills that go into it - skating, stick handling, and shooting. You have to worry about where everybody is on the ice and how fast they're moving, and the transition between offense and defense. It's also very exciting because the game is so fast.
GCD: Up until you went to college, you were usually the only girl on the team. How does it feel to finally play on a women's team?
CG: When I played with girls for the first time it was such a relief to just be one of the girls. I loved playing with the boys and I had great teammates, but I was always the "girl."
GCD: When you go out on the ice for a game, what are you thinking?
CG: I like to visualize right before game time. I visualize myself doing things right, playing defense in a certain way. You build your confidence by putting those images in your mind. For the Olympic gold medal game, we were really charged and anxious. We tried to focus on relaxing, reminding ourselves that it was just like any other game. We just had to have that confidence in ourselves, and that's why we won.
GCD: Are there personal skills that you think have helped you to be a successful player?
CG: Once you get to a certain level of playing, a lot of your success comes from your mind and what you think you can achieve. It's amazing to me how well you can play when you believe in yourself and how many mistakes you make when you're feeling down. I also set a lot of personal goals like what I want to work on during a week of practices.
GCD: As the captain of the team you had to be a good leader. How did you do that?
CG: The key is that there is no "I." You surrender yourself to the team. The team comes first no matter what. I'm not one to make a huge motivational speech in the locker room before the game. I'm more of a one-on-one leader. As a leader you have to set an example - work your hardest at practice and make your team realize what a strong unit it is. A team that is unified and trusts each other can go a long way. My major goal all year was to instill that in everybody's mind.
GCD: What about the next Olympics?
CG: It will be a big challenge for me to make the next Olympic team because right now there are no leagues for us to play in. If you're out of college, you have to find your own way to stay competitive. I have my work cut out for me, but I'm excited. |
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