Koppa learns lessons carved in ice through powers of the rink
Many people describe their paradise as a tropical island with warm weather, but senior Sofia Koppa prefers a slick ice rink boxed in with four walls. Hockey has always been her true passion.
“I have been skating since I was around four,” she said, “but I started playing hockey in fourth grade.”
Through her years in the sport, Koppa has learned many lessons. Hockey stretches beyond the ice and is more like a journey.
“Hockey has taught me a lot of life lessons,” she said. “It has given me so many opportunities to be successful and show my potential.”
Improvement doesn't come easy for the senior. It takes work and dedication.
“Some life lessons are to work for it, not wish for it,” she said. “There will always be things that get in your way but the way you react to those situations is how you will be successful, and to be patient, everyone has a different journey.”
The winter sport opens a new world of opportunity and excitement for the speedy teen.
“The best thing about hockey is how it makes me feel every time I get on the ice,” she said. “You feel so free; it's like an escape from reality. I get into this zone and don’t think about anything but the game.”
Koppa wasn't alone on her journey. She’s had plenty of support from the people around her and was taught to work hard from a young age. Despite that support, she has had to constantly advocate for herself.
“I don’t want to talk about the negatives, but let’s just say that nothing has been handed to me,” she said. “I’ve had to work hard for everything. I knew that from a young age because my parents instilled that in me. They have supported me but at the end of the day I needed to do the work.”
Koppa accredits her support system for getting her to where she is today.
“I wouldn’t be here without their support and the rest of my family, friends, and coaches,” she said.
As a female hockey player, Koppa sees the power struggle between men’s and women’s sports. Aside from just the scope of her individual love for the sport, she has hopes for a more equal environment for men and women.
“I would like to see more equity in male and female sports in general,” she said. “In hockey, I would really like to see girls be able to have more freedom with hitting.”
Like many athletes, Koppa has a rigorous pre-game ritual.
“Every morning of a game I do the same thing,” she said. “During warmups, I like to do the same circuit of stretches, and I put my jersey on a certain way along with my gear from left to right.”
Although Koppa doesn't plan on taking her hockey skills to the National Girls Hockey League (or NGHL), she will be continuing her passion for sports as a career at Trine University in Angola, Indiana.
“I'm not going to play hockey professionally, but I plan on going to college for sports medicine,” she said.
Koppa has shown to be a hard worker on and off the ice. Strength and conditioning teacher Adam Stuiber has seen her determination pay off in class.
“Sofia works extremely hard towards her goals,” he said. “Nothing will stand in her way, stopping her from accomplishing what she wants to accomplish. In strength class, she continuously works on proving herself as the best hockey player in the state.”
Koppa reaffirms that the number of goals is not the only thing needed to be good and that the beginning isn’t always pretty.
“You don’t need to be the goal scorer to be good,” she said. “You also need to have people that do the dirty work. That’s the starting point of every goal.”
Since her first few years of life, hockey has been Koppa's main inspiration. Her main lesson learned could not be more simple.
“Don’t give up,” she said. “There will always be challenges but if you want something bad enough you can accomplish anything.”
by: Anika Flores and Rin Fox
Published on march 17, 2023
Oshkosh West Index volume 119 issue VI