Dreams require constant initiative and an ability to change things so they can work in an unusual environment.
It was that type of mantra that kept Elle Schwartz persistent of her dreams. Now, Schwartz and her friends have made one of the most far-fetched dreams a real one.
Ice hockey is back at LSU.
“I never imagined this happening,” Schwartz, LSU hockey club president, said. “Sometimes I just reflect and it’s just like, holy crap, this is actually happening, we are actually back.”
After meeting with committee members of the Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference on Feb. 8, LSU was reinstated to the conference following a six-year absence. The team will begin conference play this fall.
The process began last summer, when Schwartz and LSU hockey club Vice President David Clark went through the paperwork to make hockey a student organization again. The two spent the fall getting the word out about their club and finding people to join it.
As they gained enough followers, they began to work on their proposal for SECHC.
The main concern from SECHC was consistent team attendance and commitment to the league, a lack of which contributed to the downfall of the club in 2008. Schwartz countered by starting a system in which players are given ice time based on their meeting attendance.
The team also began off-ice workouts, which consist of dead lifts, cleans, runs and various form of cardio, said Clark. The workouts are meant to keep the team in good shape until they are able to get consistent time on the ice.
In early November, Stephen Musso, a member of the former team and a current University student, approached the team about the possibility of becoming their head coach. Although Schwartz told him he’d have to take the position on a volunteer basis, Musso accepted immediately.
“Just to be around the sport of hockey meant something,” Musso said. “It has been a part of my life for 18 years, so a few more years wouldn’t hurt.”
The team has also recognized the use of social media and merchandise in spreading the word. The team has created Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and T-shirts for the team will be available soon.
Schwartz, Clark, Musso and a group of players traveled to Pelham, Ala., during the SECHC playoffs to present the proposal they’d been working on for months. Clark said it was the seminal moment they had been working toward since the summer, and everyone was on edge.
The nerves disappeared once it was announced that not only had the team been voted back in, but the vote had been unanimous. Schwartz said it was the satisfaction from defying all of those who doubted the team that meant the most.
“Motivation definitely came from the naysayers,” Schwartz said. “I knew after they doubted me that I had to prove everybody wrong. And now look at where we are; look at the progress we’ve made in such a short amount of time.”
The biggest help LSU has received has been from a school most students consider to be their enemy: Alabama. The “Frozen Tide” gave the club two complementary hotel rooms when the team traveled to Alabama and are helping the team pay for a trip to Tuscaloosa next season.
But the Tigers’ dreams have not been filled yet. They will spend this year on a probationary basis, unable to play in the SECHC tournament. They will have to make another proposal next February to be welcomed as full-time participants.
The Tigers’ official season is set to kick off in September, with a possible scrimmage against Tulane in the works. For Schwartz, it’s all about next February, and continuing the dream she’s maintained for eight months.
“I personally have put in too much time and work, and these members have put in too much time and work to see this club fail now,” Schwartz said. “As cliché as it is, failing is no longer an option for this club. There’s no sink or swim, just swimming.”