Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, The Ivy League & Beyond [Hardcover]

Angela Ruggiero (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2005

Angela Ruggiero is the world’s best women's ice hockey player as rated by Hockey News magazine. She was the first female non-goalie to play in a men’s professional hockey league, and she has used her status as a top female athlete to promote education, health, and the value of sports across the globe. A Harvard graduate, humanitarian, and rare hockey “triple crown” winner (Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and collegiate champion), she traces in Breaking the Ice the growth of girls’ and women’s hockey from the fringes of the sports world to the center of the Olympic and world stage. Angela’s inspirational journey from a childhood in the suburbs of Southern California, where she had to overcome skepticism concerning girls in hockey and even about the sport of hockey itself, to stardom in rinks around the world is a remarkable story of determination and athletic achievement. A leading player for all three U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey teams for which she has played, she recounts not only the joys of ultimate victory but also the physical and emotional challenges that confront a topnotch athlete, including strains on family life, a punishing training regimen, and the rigors of constant travel. It reveals Angela as a dynamic and outspoken woman who has packed a rucksack full of intense experiences and hard-learned lessons into her life. Her story will appeal not only to hockey and sports fans but also to readers of all ages who are interested in the triumph of a woman who would not be daunted by the challenges of blazing a trail and breaking through barriers. Angela has played in six International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships, and in April 2005 she scored one of the shootout goals that helped the U.S. team win the tournament for the first time. She was recognized by the NCAA as one of the Top VIII scholar athletes in the country. Since graduating from Harvard in 2004, Ruggiero has founded the All-American Girls Hockey School.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a 1998 gold medalist in women's hockey, one of the NCAA's top scholar-athletes during the 2003–2004 school year and the first female nongoalie to play in a men's professional hockey league in 2005 with the Tulsa Oilers, Ruggiero is in an excellent position to comment on the current state of women's hockey. While she touches on some of the bigger gender-based problems facing women in the predominantly male sport, this is basically a straightforward account of her life from her introduction to hockey at age seven in not-so-hockey-friendly California through her experiences as a scholarship winner and top athlete at Connecticut's Choate Rosemary Hall prep school and later at Harvard to her post-Olympic pursuit of a professional career playing hockey. The best sections are those concerning Ruggiero's pre-prep school career, where she vividly describes proving herself "in a boy's world," including inadvertently breaking a boy's collarbone with a clean hit. Ruggiero's insider look at life in the Olympics is interesting, but the narrative is heavy with clichés. However, her honesty and her ability to capture how her teenage self had to persevere makes this a perfect gift book for preteen and teen female athletes. Photos. (Nov.)
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Review

As truly talented a hockey player as Angela is, it is her genuine humanitarianism that sets her apart. --Katey Stone, Head Coach, Harvard University Women's Ice Hockey

She is a great leader, an awesome teammate, and has become the most dominant player in the world. --Cammi Granato, Team USA, Women's Ice Hockey

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Drummond Publishing Group (October 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597630098
• ISBN-13: 978-1597630092
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring., February 23, 2006

By 

Anthony "myself" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, The Ivy League & Beyond (Hardcover)

This book talks about some of the early formings of girls/womens hockey in the USA. This is a very good book to read if you are familiar with hockey. Even if you are not involved with hockey you will like this book, because it talks about overcoming the odds and moving up in the ranks.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hockey role model, February 3, 2007

By 

hockey mom (illinois, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, The Ivy League & Beyond (Hardcover)

I read this book after my 13 year hockey player finished. This is a life lesson book. She is one of the top in her field and like C.Gunn had things to overcome that made them stronger. This book lets girls know these are real people that worked hard, and it is possible to shoot for the stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for ALL female athletes, February 27, 2006

By 

John Pijaca "Hockey dad" (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, The Ivy League & Beyond (Hardcover)

My daughter is a 10 year old girl hockey player and both she and I read the book, she actually did a powerpoint presentation for school on the book. This book is more than just a hockey book but an insiration to all girls about the obstacles Angela overcame in her life. After reading the book myself I am glad to know that my daughter looks up to Angela and wants to be like her, there is NO better role model for a young girl to look up to than Angela. This book is a must for all young girls, no matter what sport or activity they are involved in.