No matter which town border their home lies in, these athletes come together many mornings and nights and meet at Terry Connor Rink in Stamford, CT. Their hockey team is made of players from Stamford High School, Westhill High School and Staples High School, although they have united as one team with the name “SWS.”  

Their alarms go off at 4:30 a.m, they roll out of bed, get their equipment together and get into their car ready to hit the ice at dawn. Yet, the early wake up and dark skies do not stop these hockey players.

The SWS co-op girls’ hockey team endured their early morning practices, which resulted in a 18-3-1 season record, proving that their hard work, at all hours, paid off. 

They started the season unranked in the state and ended their season ranked number four. 

One of the four assistants on the team is Chloe Hackett ’23. She plays right wing and believes the team’s success is due to the bond they share.

“I think our team was so successful due to the family-like bond that we have and the amount of talent the new players came into the program with,” Hackett said. ”Our team also does a very good job hyping up the players before games and getting everyone motivated and locked in.”

Her younger sister, Alex Hackett ’26, is a left wing on the team. She also credits their success to her supportive teammates. 

“We had such a good group of people who supported each other no matter how difficult the teams we played were,” Alex Hackett said.

The team had three to four practices a week, not including games. Therefore, they spent a lot of time together regardless of going to different schools.

 “In the beginning of the season not everyone knew each other,” Hackett said. “However we were able to come together and create a family that we know we can always count on.” 

The team’s hard work got them to the FCIAC championship and to the second round of states. 

Maya Sherman ’25 is another Staples member of SWS who has been playing hockey since she was four years old. She plays defense for the team. 

“My favorite memory this season would have to be beating Darien in our FCIAC semifinal game as we came in as an underdog but shut them out and gained a lot of respect,” Sherman said.

The team was very proud of their season and were able to prove many people wrong with such a strong campaign.

“It felt great because we knew what we were capable of from the beginning,” Sherman said. “Even though we were underestimated by a lot of teams throughout the state.”