Lang was a hockey fan.
She liked the game enough to play in high school, but left it behind to pursue a track and field career that would lead her to the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials.
Life went on. Hockey became a distant memory. Lang had two daughters. The kids changed everything.
It started when Lang's daughter, Aubrey, said she wanted to play hockey. Lang returned to her playing days as the only Black girl lacing up skates and unexpectedly sparked a passion that would change the course of several futures.
I thought I was going to have a track runner for a kid, but when she said she wanted to play hockey, I tried to get her into the hockey space.
There were not many girls of color like her on the ice. It was the same struggle as Lang had experienced when he was a hockey player. Lang was able to do something about it.
She was drawn to the speed of hockey.
Lang lived in St. Louis until she was 12. She went along to her first Blues game with her brother.
Lang recalled watching them play and being enthralled. I liked the speed. I don't know why I was drawn to it, but it wasn't like I thought at the time I could play it. I saw how big hockey was in Minnesota when we moved there, and now it is my chance to play.
Following their relocation, Matt took to the ice. He was the goalie for Team Trinidad in the second season of the show. Lang was hesitant to join but by the eighth grade he felt inspired by Matt to give hockey a chance.
Lang didn't fit the mold immediately. It wouldn't stop her.
Lang said it was painful when she first started. The game of hockey for girls of color was pioneered by me during my playing career. I was encouraged by my parents to do anything I wanted. I didn't want to be that person that fit into a box. I was going to play hockey and throw a curve.
Lang had to choose between hockey and track when she was a junior in high school. Lang didn't get a college hockey scholarship because she wasn't good enough to play at the level, so she focused on the field and became a track star.
Lang was a 15-time All-American, two-time USTFCCCA National outdoor track and field athlete of the year and two-time NCAA Division II heptathlon winner. Lang finished ninth at the USATF Olympic trials in the heptathlon in 2004, after finishing fifth at the USATF championship in 2002. She is now in the Division II Hall of Fame.
Lang thought she would pass track prowess onto her girls. They had a different path in mind. Lang's past as an outsider would help them move forward.
Lang and his family settled in Minnesota after leaving St. Louis. She was moving her family there after a stint in North Carolina when she heard about hockey.
The Bloomington Girls Hockey Club is based in another suburb. The mother and daughter talked about how to fix the problem after Aubrey stood out in a sea of all-white teammates. The solution was to get more girls in the building.
Adelyn Janzig de la Luz is a Mexican American and was recruited by Aubrey. Mia and Adelyn's sisters came on board. They were hooked on hockey and held out hope that more girls of color would join. Lang, Adelyn and Laura needed to know that before they co-founding the Hockey Ni.
The goal was to highlight girls of color who love hockey. Hockey Ni believed that feeling seen was the key to girls participating in the sport.
Lang said it was about encouraging other girls to come to hockey.
Lang and Laura attended focus groups and roundtable discussions to discuss their thoughts on a need for more representation in Minnesota hockey.
Lang said they knew they could go within their community and pioneer getting more kids of color in the game. It was done through social media.
Lang was searching for ways to expand her purpose further as she became more invested in her mission. The commissioner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association came up with an idea.
Lang was introduced to Tina Kampa by Flowers. Lang and Kampa formed a close bond, and collaborated on a vision to elevate the faces of BIPOC girls in hockey.
Minnesota Unbounded was born there.
Tina was eager to get started on the next chapter, but unsure of how to do it.
She was proud of her academic and athletic career at Bemidji State. Hockey had always been a sport for Kampa. She wanted to create opportunities for young girls of color in the sport.
Through various collegiate connections, Kampa began hearing about the Hockey Ni. She wanted to meet the girls who started the program. Kampa didn't know that Lang was going to change her life.
When we connected, she told us what she was doing and how she wanted to make an impact in the game.
The co-founding of Hockey Ni was different than what Kampa and Lang did together. Minnesota Unbounded was to be a tournament team showcasing those underrepresented players in order to make the game more inclusive.
Lang was given an opportunity to make contacts and develop a deeper understanding of the hockey community. The Unbounded was where she would channel it. Lang wanted to create a program that would allow aspiring players from around the state to feel welcome.
The Hockey Ni was folded into the new endeavor so that it could count every girl in.
Being part of Minnesota Unbounded, I feel like we are America's team. We knew a lot of people. Tina had connections and I had connections through the hockey league.
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