When Kristi Davis met with the mental performance coach for the Ogden Junior Mustangs last year, something stuck out. For her female athletes to develop, she learned, it was important for them to have an adult from outside of the family step forward and show them they care about their craft.
The parents cheering behind the glass helps, too. The Junior Ogden Mustangs have been one of the groups to benefit from this mission. They all show their pictures to each other. It matters so much to these girls.
A lot of the guys in the Utah locker room do good outside the rink, he said. He and Marissa welcomed their daughter Carrera this summer. Marissa was also an athlete in college, on the field hockey team at Harvard University while her now-husband was on the ice hockey team for the Crimson. All of the teams are administered by volunteers registered with USA Hockey.
The Ogden Junior Mustangs have been able to send six of their athletes to Utah games this season as they alternate with other girls' programs in the area. The young skaters' passion for the game has only heightened since getting to see it up close at the NHL level, Davis said.
The experience has been more than the two tickets and warmup viewing, though. The girls tell stories of Kerfoot coming over to take pictures, having a conversation and bringing a small gift.
