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02/21/2023 11:49 AMFreshman defender Emma Clifford has always been inspired by the game of hockey. The Guilford native has made a quick impact already in her short time with the Guilford Grizzlies co-op girls’ ice hockey team this season.
Emma’s passion for the sport started at a very young age, and she tried her hand at playing when she was eight. Since then, Emma has worked to improve her game as much as possible.
“I started watching hockey when I was five and asked my parents what sport it was as well as if I could play it,” says Emma. “I thought it looked fun and was glad that I was trying something that was my own idea.”
Although field hockey and ice hockey are very similar, there are also certain mechanisms and skill tactics that make them different. What makes Emma so unique is that she is also a key part of the field hockey team at Guilford and looks to play golf in the spring to expand her horizons even further.
With the Grizzlies being in their first season as a co-op team with girls from East Haven, North Branford, and Coginchaug, Emma has enjoyed getting to know the group of girls she hits the ice with, despite it having been a challenge at first to form that team chemistry.
“It has been really fun and really cool to be with people from other towns,” says Emma. “It is great to meet new people through it, people that I didn’t know before that I get to know better now. I am really grateful to play on the team as well and glad that I am able to contribute.”
Emma adds more to the reasons why it was so challenging at first to form the on-ice cohesion needed to be successful as a unit in hockey.
“The biggest challenge is probably being on a new team with people that have never played together,” says Emma. “I think it is a lot of different personalities, but we are all pretty close now.”
Head Coach Rich Binkowski praises Emma’s ability to make decisions under pressure in games and the way she has taken the role of being a team leader on the ice with ease.
“Emma has been great; we are leaning hard on the freshman this year, especially on defense,” says Binkowski. “She has really good skills, does a good job, has a good defensive mind on her to figure out plays, and handles the pressure in the defensive zone.”
In her time away from the Grizzlies, Emma continues to improve her defensive game by playing for the Shoreline Sharks, a nonprofit organization dedicated to offering competitive hockey programs for girls of a wide range of ages across Southern Connecticut. Although she mainly plays left defender for the Sharks, Emma also plays center and wing to create more versatility in her game.
Along with the challenges that Emma has faced in her first year, between being a freshman and having to acclimate herself to the team, Binkowksi recognizes how difficult it can be for newcomers to come onto a fresh new team, playing against seasoned varsity girls.
“It is hard because most of these kids have played youth hockey and with kids that are their own age or a year away. Then they come into high school as freshmen and now are playing against kids that are three or four years older than them,” says Binkowski. “As freshmen, they are still young; there is a drastic difference. It is really hard for them to adjust. Emma has been doing a great job with that aspect with the high school hockey and has adjusted well.”
As the Grizzlies focus on moving into the postseason portion of their season, Emma hopes to continue to have as much fun as she’s had in her debut season in a Guilford uniform, while also staying focused on playing hard.
“I am mostly looking forward to see how far we can get, how much fun we can have, and see how well we do,” says Emma.
Binkowski knows Emma has a lot of potential with the sport moving forward, and he wants to see her continue to grow in areas that could help make her game even better than it already is.
“I am looking to her to continue to play strong and pick up the little things that we have been working on in practice,” says Binkowski. “Understand things better and be more proficient in what she is doing back there. Try the little things that we are trying to sharpen up her game. Just stay the course—she has been a consistent anchor for us back there, we have asked a lot and put a lot of pressure on her, and she has come through. We are very happy with her performance this season and we just want her to keep it going.”