USA Hockey Magazine

32 // JULY 2023 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOS BY Brianna Rhone; Justin Felisko V I D E O S Head behind the scenes at the USA Hockey-BioSteel Girls 16/17 Player Development Camp "That is something that I've let hurt me in the past a little bit," Heise said. "Now I refuse to let it hurt me like it did. You have a bad camp here and there, you have a bad day, but it's how you flip it around. The evaluators and such are not just look- ing at one day. They're looking at how you can rebound from different situations. I would definitely say just having a better attitude and knowing that one day is not going to define you for who you are." Heise's time at camp as a teenager saw her not only fighting for a spot on the Under-18 Women's National Team, but also befriending future Team USA team- mates. Heise remembers attending player development camp with Gracie Ostertag, who has since become a good friend at the University of Minnesota. The friendships Heise made at camp have had a definitive impact on her as a player, and as a person. Laughing and exploring St. Cloud State University 's campus with her friends allowed her to mentally decompress when not on the ice, something that helped take her mind off the magnitude of her ultimate goal at camp. " I h a v e p i c t u r e s f r o m P l a y e r Development Camps and seeing how many people I still know and keep in con- tact with, and how many people had such amazing college careers too," Heise said. "Being a part of USA Hockey not only sets you up for success in the future, but it also sets you up for success in college and things after that, so I'm definitely grateful for that." Heise does not take her appearance at this year 's camp lightly either. Yes, USA Hockey continues to expand Player Development Camps to involve more off-ice training, including nutrition and mental health, but Heise remembers how great it was to learn from some of her Team USA heros. She fondly recalls listening and learning from Team USA Olympians, including Brianna Decker, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Julie Chu, when she attended camp. "I remember all my camp counselors. I had Julie Chu and she's someone that I always looked up to, and I remember being like 'Oh my gosh, this is insane,'" Heise recalled. "I try to emulate it as much as I could, and the way that they paved women's hockey for people like me, I'm just very thankful. "It definitely was a week in St. Cloud that I'll never forget." P DON'T LET ONE FAILURE DEFINE YOU." – TAYLOR HEISE

• Cover