Lia Harrington is the caption of the University of Michigan Women's Club Ice Hockey team. She is an exceptional leader and is beloved by her teammates, as well as her coaches. We talked to her about her recruiting experience, illustrious athletic career, and how a good team dynamic is vital to a successful team. 

1. At what age did you start playing Ice hockey?

“I started playing at age 4 because my parents forced me to, despite my older sister never playing. There was a girl on my older brother's team and my parents got the idea for me to play because of her.”

2. Did anyone else in your family play Ice hockey?

“My dad, older brother, and two younger brothers all play hockey. However, my older sister and my mom have never played.”

3. What do you love most about the sport?

“I love the fast-paced, read-and-react aspect of hockey. My favorite part is that you have to react to the other team and read what your teammates are doing, rather than always running set plays. I also love the combination of skills it requires: skating, shooting, stick-handling, and positioning. Not just any athletic person can play hockey. You have to be able to skate pretty well which means most hockey players have been playing since they were very young. This creates a tight-knit hockey community that I love being a part of.

4. Why did you choose the University of Michigan?

“I'm from Michigan, and my mom and older sister went to U of M so I had to apply. It's a good school with a very good engineering program and cheap in-state tuition, so when I got accepted it was hard to pass up. I also really love Ann Arbor and think it's truly the perfect college town.” 

5. What was the recruiting process like for you?

“In high school, I was in contact with a lot of coaches at other schools with varsity programs, however, none of those schools could offer the same level of academic excellence that Michigan has. I was also in contact with the Michigan coaches when I was in high school and attended a couple recruiting skates at Yost. Because we're a club sport, the coaches have to wait until students are accepted on their own to really consider them joining the team. Unfortunately, the coach that I was in contact with in high school was fired the year before my freshman year so I, essentially, came in with no knowledge of the new coach.”

6. What advice do you have for athletes going through the recruiting process now?

“Don't worry about who's watching you play. Just focus on playing for your team. Near the latter years of high school, it's easy to get caught up in playing for yourself or for the recruiter that's watching in the stands. What's important is being a team player and focusing on team goals.”

7. How important was your family's support when going through the recruiting process?

“My mom was pretty active in my recruiting process, but she left a lot of it up to me. It was my responsibility to follow up with coaches and to make decisions about what types of schools I wanted to attend.”

8. How important is a good team dynamic?

“Essentially, a good team dynamic is the most important thing. If everyone doesn't buy into the success of the team or if some players have different goals for the season, things can go wrong in so many ways. This includes the coach, too.”

9. What was your relationship like with your pre-college coach?

“My pre-college coach actually turned out to be my coach at Michigan for my sophomore and junior years. We didn't really get along because I felt like he didn't respect me when I was younger and I sort of carried that resentment over into college. However, he knew hockey pretty well and took the game very seriously. I don't think Michigan was the best fit for him because he only lasted two years.”

10. What was the transition from pre-college hockey to college hockey like?

“The level that I played in high school was much more competitive than college. It was a difficult transition but more in the sense that I struggled to adapt to playing with less competitive players. However, my high school never had a hockey team and I had to play elsewhere, but when I came to Michigan I was finally playing for my school and taking classes with my teammates which is a huge part of the experience of being an athlete that I missed out on in high school.”

11. How did you become captain?

“Our captaincies are based on votes from the team, but ultimately determined by our coaches. I was initially an assistant captain during my junior year with three other senior captains. So, when it came to my senior year, I had experience as a player and a leader and had already made it clear that I was dedicated to the team's success by my performance on and off the ice for the past three years.”

12. Do you think 2aDays could have helped you in the recruiting process? Why?

“I definitely think they could have helped me because I would've had access to honest accounts of real college athletes rather than simply having to base my decisions on what certain coaches told me. Additionally, reading coaching reviews helps to take college coaches off of the giant pedestal that high school students often put them on.”

Fun Questions:

13. What pump-up song do you listen to in the locker room before a game? Do you have a pre-race ritual that you do before every game?

“I don't have a specific song. Usually, I just listen to whatever is playing in the locker room. I never have my phone connected to the speaker because it's too much responsibility. My only pre-game ritual is just to make sure that I have all my equipment before I start putting it on.”

14. If you could meet one famous ice hockey player, who would it be and why?

“Probably Alexander Ovechkin because he's really passionate about the game and he seems like the most fun player to go out drinking with, plus his shot is ridiculous.”