Coronado junior travels around the country chasing a hockey dream

By Christopher Drexel

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 | midnight

One weekend Lauren Straus is playing hockey in Arizona or Colorado. The next weekend it may be in New York or Alaska.

At the very least, Straus packs up her equipment and heads south to join the 16-and-under Lady Ducks, a competitive hockey team she plays for that’s based out of Anaheim, Calif. If the all-girls squad isn’t traveling out of state for games, then it’s practicing or playing against boys teams in California.

But since Straus, a junior at Coronado, is one of only three players not living in California, every weekend is a road trip.

“It’s worth it,” Straus said. “It gives me something to do on the weekends. I do homework on the car rides or I just sleep.”

The constant travel doesn’t affect Straus’ love of hockey, a sport she’s dabbled in almost since she could walk.

“I noticed how my dad was always watching the NHL, so I was like, ‘I want to try it.’ I started getting on the ice with a puck when I was 3,” Straus said.

When the family moved to Henderson from Los Angeles six years ago, she began regularly traveling back to Southern California to play, since no girls programs were based out of Southern Nevada.

Two years ago, she joined the Lady Ducks, who play Tier 1, the highest level of hockey in the country for Straus’ age. During her sophomore year last season, Straus scored 18 goals and collected 24 assists in 32 games while playing against some of the country’s best players.

“We travel all over the country, but it’s worth it to see how she stacks up against the girls who play back east and all that,” said Lea Straus, Lauren’s mother. “She’s worked hard for her success.”

Straus’ numbers have drawn interest from Division I colleges, including Minnesota, Colgate and Union University. But her scholarship opportunities largely depend on her performance this winter.

“This is my biggest year right now,” Straus said. “The second year of 16 and under is when colleges start contacting me. I have to keep training and getting my name out there.”

Though Straus plays her games out of state, she has been a regular among local players at the Las Vegas Ice Center. There, she does on- and off-ice training four days a week. And she regularly attends women’s hockey clinics on Monday nights, where she is often the most skilled participant.

Las Vegas Ice Center coach Dominique Beaudoin said Straus has been a role model for the rink’s younger girls.

“Everybody involved in the (girls hockey) program is talking about Lauren Straus,” Beaudoin said. “She never misses a women’s clinic. She’s always there for demonstrations and she has an extremely good attitude, not the ‘I’m way better than that’ attitude.”

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or [email protected].