Shaun Suisham just wanted to do more for girls playing hockey.
Suisham first started coaching hockey when he was still kicking for the Steelers late in 2014, back when his daughters Sienna and Stella -- now 12 and 10 years old -- were first getting into hockey.
The older girls at the rink were playing on co-ed teams comprised of primarily boys, and didn't have a locker room of their own. While the boys on the team shared the locker room and the camaraderie that comes from being in the locker room together, the few girls on the team were forced to get ready in a separate bathroom or the referee's room.
"I'm thinking we could do more," Suisham told WPXI's Jenna Harner and me on this week's episode of Podcast on Fifth Ave. "There could be more for these ladies. My goal was to hopefully be part of something not only for my daughters, but for all the girls in this area too."
Suisham made it a goal to help build up girls hockey in the Pittsburgh area, so that girls could have that experience of playing on an all-girls team and sharing a locker room without having to sacrifice their development as hockey players.
The Pittsburgh Penguins Elite youth program now boasts two 10U girls teams and two 12U girls teams, with Suisham and Robert Morris alum Eric Attanucci each coaching a team in each age group. The teams play against other girls teams, as well as co-ed teams that are typically dominated by boys.
"Now I can tell parents and tell kids, 'Look, if you play on our hockey teams, you don't have to give up development in order to share this awesome experience with girls,'" Suisham said. "When we play (boys teams), it's been great because those teams, those boys, those coaches are no longer looking at our team as a team of girls, but as a hockey team. It's really special. That's why I coach them as hockey players. That's how we treat them. We certainly push the girls, and it's fun to watch them respond."
That commitment to growing girls hockey is why Suisham said he was hurt to see Robert Morris suddenly drop it's men's and women's hockey programs in May, leaving the Pittsburgh area without a Division 1 hockey program, taking away the opportunity for local girls players to see Division 1 women's hockey players in their own city.
"There aren't an awful lot of opportunities at that caliber of play for girls," he said. "We take one of those opportunities away, not only does it take away the opportunity for those ladies that are fortunate enough to make it there, it also pulls away that thought, that idea, that dream for those girls. They push themselves and they grow so much. Forget about hockey, but it just prepares them for life, to become our future leaders. ... We need to fight for those opportunities for our girls. I feel that, believe it. I know the power of sport, I'm a perfect example of that. And I don't want my daughters, the girls of this area not to have it."
Suisham's been involved in the fundraising efforts to help restore the Robert Morris programs, including taking part in this video with Brett Keisel, Brianne McLaughlin, Ryan Malone, Neil Walker and Colby Armstrong, discovering a new talent of his in the process:
This is OUR TaHn! When you play da @penguins @Pirates @steelers team you play the whole TaHn! Buy in and be part of the greatest comeback in Sports History. Down 500,000 goals! Game ends Dec 15! @PghCHF @IronCityBeer https://t.co/HujY8tc8ge pic.twitter.com/Yyh2YLA4dK
— Ryan “Bugsy” Malone (@Bugsy12Malone) December 6, 2021
"I spoke before I actually knew if I could do it or not, I told him I could kick on the ice," he said. "And I can! So what I would like to challenge (Sidney Crosby) to is a kicking contest on the ice. I think I'd like to do that."
As far as his own future, Suisham isn't focused on moving on up in the coaching ranks himself. He's just focused on building a better future for girls hockey in the Pittsburgh community.
"My goal doing this, is I don't do it for money," he said. "It's trying to give back to a community that's been so wonderful to my family, and trying to hopefully find little ways here and there to leave hockey in a better place in this area than how we found it. ... To watch the growth of our young ladies has been really special. Hopefully some of them feel in some small way I've added to hockey for them. I hope that's the case, because I certainly love doing it."
Our full interview with Suisham on girls hockey, his own background as a hockey player, and much more can be seen in the second segment (12:50) of this week's Podcast on Fifth Ave:
