Abbey Fox's road to assistant captain for the women's ice hockey team has been anything but a smooth ride. The first bump on the senior forward's path was geography.
Playing ice hockey in Kansas just isn't very common. If Fox's family had not moved to Michigan from the Great Plains, she probably would have never picked up a stick and stepped onto the ice, and Princeton would be without one of its best players.
But Fox's family did make that move, and her father - a former college baseball player - soon fell in love with ice hockey.
"He started playing in pickup leagues with friends, and then my older brother started playing, and I wanted to do what he was doing," Fox says.
Center stage
For the most part, women's ice hockey leagues don't exist for five year-olds in Michigan, so Fox had to suit up and battle with the boys to gain experience. Nevertheless, she wasn't relegated to defense or even a wing - Fox played center.
"There weren't any other girls who played. I used to have these big blonde pigtails, and go out and skate," she says.
And for a few years in middle school, the senior stopped playing ice hockey, opting for field hockey and soccer instead - another detour on her road to Tiger ice hockey. Fox didn't get back on the ice until sophomore year in high school, when she played with other girls for the first time.
Even after arriving at Princeton however, Fox feels that she was not on the right hockey track until her junior year.
"[During] my freshman and sophomore years, I really wasn't as into the game," Fox says. "Last year, though, I had a really good year. I had some breakaway goals, and those always make you feel good. And this year has probably been my favorite year so far, especially the way that we've come together as a team - finally."
It was a long and not always straight journey to the point where Fox is now, but she has always had her family to learn from.
"I really look up to my dad," Fox says. "He approaches life with a lot of zest, and he's aggressive and loves a challenge. The way he approaches things with such fire has really taught me."
The assistant captain's leadership style seems to come directly from her father. She leads with her play on the ice, but also motivates with her words and energy in the locker room.
"I'm definitely talkative," Fox says. "I'm pretty verbal and get people fired up. But the best way to lead is by example."
Fox's example is one admired by the rest of her teammates - never giving up on a play and always grinding it out on the ice.
"I always tell my team," the senior says, "that you can't always count on scoring, you can't always count on getting points, but you can always count on working hard.
"I hustle, I'm aggressive and I love getting feisty. But I'm more of a playmaker than a goal scorer."
Family ties
The assistant captain's brother has also been a major influence on Fox's improvement as a hockey player. He played for Michigan in college and then professionally for a short time.
"He's very committed and disciplined," Fox says. "That may have been lacking in my life, and he's helped to foster that."
Head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 also continues to influence the senior, especially with his demeanor.
"Jeff has a lot of different faces," Fox says. "He's a great friend, coach and counselor. He looks out for you. He's developed as a coach as I have as a player, and he makes the game fun."
Junior captain Andrea Kilbourne and former Tiger Annamarie Holmes '01 have had the most influence on Fox in terms of being a better player.
"Kilbourne is the epitome of a team player, and a person I'm proud to say I have as a teammate," Fox says. "Annamarie Holmes and I used to go head to head on the ice and in the locker room and then we would step off the ice and be awesome friends."
The road to becoming a crucial member of the women's ice hockey team for Abbey Fox may have had a few curves and bumps along the way, but in the end, it was a navigable path.
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