ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) - As a young girl, Katie Noomen was always submerged in a hockey life. From day one, she has been set firmly into a family in which hockey is the center of attention.
For years, Noomen played the role of the supportive younger sister, constantly traveling around Wyoming to watch her older brother, Lance, play in tournaments and games. Along with an older brother to look up to, Noomen’s longtime coach doubled as her father and biggest supporter, reported the Rock Springs Rocket-Miner (https://bit.ly/2kemmNK).
Noomen’s father, Lowell, isn’t her coach anymore, but the tips, pointers and tough love will always be there for her. Noomen said “he’ll always be my coach.”
With a family like that, hockey has always been a huge part of her world, and not much has changed over the years.
Noomen, who has lived in Rock Springs her whole life, started playing hockey as an 8-year old girl. Now, she is a decorated senior in high school, an all-state player for the Rock Springs Lady Miners and the lone girl on the boys Miners team.
She is also a member of the Rock Springs High School girls soccer team and has tried other sports, but she has no doubt that she belongs on the ice.
“I’ve played soccer, volleyball and T-ball when I was younger,” Noomen said. “But I’m just better at hockey.”
Character is key
Noomen is very proud of the hockey player she has become, but she has never lost sight of how important being good off the ice is.
One of her proudest accomplishments came as a member of Team Wyoming, when her team progressed through the Silver Sticks Tournament to take second in Westminster, Colorado, her sophomore year. The girls were selected to go to nationals for Silver Sticks in Ontario, Canada, but they didn’t make it in the normal fashion.
Usually, the only team that advances to nationals is the one that takes first in the regional. Even though Team Wyoming took second, Noomen and her teammates were selected to go to Ontario because of the great class that they showed. Great sportsmanship on the ice, friendly girls off the ice, and the fact that the team left a spotless locker room behind after the tournament were all factors in the decision.
Keith Larson, head coach of the Rock Springs Lady Miners, had nothing but great things to say about Noomen.
“It’s never boring,” Larson said with a chuckle. “She always stands up for what should be going on and what’s right.”
Even though Larson has countless memories of Noomen on the ice, the moments he recalled most were during the time he got to spend with her on road trips to hockey events.
Larson said that one of things that will stick with him is Noomen’s obsession with finding ice cream when they travel. According to Larson, Noomen is on the constant lookout for a Dairy Queen and even sends pictures to her coach when she gets ice cream without him just to rub it in a little.
“It’s great to coach her,” Larson said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Hard work pays off
Apart from priding herself in being a good person, Noomen also possesses an outstanding work ethic. Being a member of two different hockey teams during the school year is no laughing matter.
Noomen practices six times a week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she wakes up well before the sun rises for her 5:30 a.m. practice with the girls team and doesn’t get home until well after dark when she is done with the 7:45 p.m. practice with the boys.
She even manages to find ice to skate on in the summer, as she fills up a good portion of the warm-weather months by going to hockey camps and clinics. As with most great athletes, there is no offseason for this player.
Coach Larson couldn’t help but rave about how hard Noomen works on the ice.
“Katie doesn’t know how to go anything but 100 percent,” Larson said. “She doesn’t tolerate not working hard.”
Much of Noomen’s success has come with her Lady Miners team, but she has become accustomed to being just “one of the guys” during her time with the boys team. Being the only girl on the team isn’t near as big of a deal for her as one might think.
“I grew up playing with these guys,” Noomen said. “I’m pretty used to it by now.”
Noomen said she has been the butt of some good-natured jokes from her male teammates, but certainly nothing that she can’t handle.
Goals and accomplishments
Over the years, Noomen has turned into a highly decorated hockey player. Achieving the honor of advancing to nationals with Team Wyoming represents only a small portion of what she has accomplished.
Now in her senior season, Noomen is coming off three straight years of receiving Wyoming all-state honors with the Lady Miners, which are awards that are voted on by coaches around the state.
Noomen said she is extremely proud of this achievement because of the criteria: the quality of player on the ice, along with the quality of the person under the hockey mask.
Along with all-state honors, Noomen has been a key member of Team Wyoming for the past five years and has been invited to five President’s Cups.
One of her favorite memories was with Team Wyoming in 2014, when the girls were skated with someone that many female hockey players adamantly revere.
The team got the pleasure of meeting and skating with Hillary Knight, whose resume includes being a professional hockey player, Olympic silver medalist, MVP of the Canadian Women’s Professional Hockey League and four-time world champion.
Knight is a trailblazer for women in the sport, as she became the first ever non-goalie female hockey player to practice with an NHL team, taking the ice with the Anaheim Ducks in 2014.
It was a unique experience, and one that Noomen enjoyed immensely.
“It was so awesome to skate with an Olympian,” Noomen said.
Her high school hockey career is nearing a conclusion, as she is in the middle of her senior year, but she has no plans of going quietly.
Noomen’s standards have her aiming high. Her team goal is for the Lady Miners to win the state title, which is something she feels confident the team can do. Individually, she really wants to secure her fourth straight all-state nomination.
“I really want people to know how good of a hockey player I am,” Noomen said.
Next step
Much of Noomen’s life has been taken up by hockey, but that hasn’t distracted her from schoolwork. She is also successful in the classroom, accumulating a 3.4 weighted grade-point average in her three and a half years at Rock Springs High School.
After this school year concludes, Noomen plans on attending Casper College and going into the pharmacy program. Once her two years in Casper are finished and she has an associate degree, she plans on completing her education at the University of Wyoming.
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Information from: Rock Springs (Wyo.) Rocket-Miner, https://www.rocketminer.com
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