Last Updated on Thursday, 25 February 2016 10:23
The Klein family of St. Croix Falls, Wis., features three hockey-playing sisters for the Western Wisconsin Stars
By Andrew Vitalis
If you watched a Western Wisconsin Stars girls’ hockey game this season, your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you. The last name “Klein” appeared early and often. The Stars were blessed with three players – all sisters – by the last name of Klein. Prior to skating into the section playoffs, the Klein family shared their thoughts on hockey, memories made on and off the ice and what it’s like to be a part of what they call “the golden year.”
There is an old saying about sports that goes, “You don’t always get what you wish for, you get what you work for.”
The same, as we know, can be said about life. About relationships. About family.
The similarities between sports and life have always been profound. “Play a sport. It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time and stay out of trouble.”
In St. Croix Falls, Wis., the Kevin and Amy Klein household is just one real-life example of how athletics and life intertwine – a lot! From that, the development of their children on the field, and more importantly, off of it. In this case, their field of choice is ice, and in most cases throughout the last 20 years, ice coupled with the wind and elements of a tiny outdoor rink less than a quarter mile from their home (a part of the River Valley Hockey Association – the only full-time hockey association in Wisconsin). Now with their oldest graduated and in college (Henry) and their oldest daughter Sophie fresh off the completion of her high school hockey career as a senior leader for the Western Wisconsin Stars, both parents can’t help but to reflect on the amazing journey to this point. Yes, two daughters have plenty of time left in their high school campaigns (Grace just finished her sophomore season, Anna just finished her freshman season), but that doesn’t stop the memories from rushing through them like an odd-man rush.
“It was fantastic,” Kevin Klein said when asked about his early memories of his kids playing hockey on the nearby outdoor rink. “Very easily accessible, and because it was outdoors, it was very affordable. I started coaching Mites and just stayed coaching. The early years were not hard at all because we were so close. It was really a lot of fun – a lot of great memories. While one kid was practicing, the other ones were on the pleasure rink skating. We would all come home at the end of the evening and have hot chocolate. That was the winter activity.”
“It seems crazy to send your kids outside in below-zero temperatures for hockey practice, and it certainly wasn’t without discomfort, but without fail, after skating under the lights with snow falling, the kids would come home exhilarated and happy,” Amy Klein added. “The sounds, the smells, the sights of hockey hold a special spot for all of us. Often, a couple of the kids played on the same team – a Klein-line score with an ‘a-sister-ed’ goal was super fun to witness. We have fond memories of spending Saturdays watching hockey games all day, kids messing around on the pleasure rink between games, then coming home to hot chocolate and popcorn by the fire.”
True, the Klein sisters at times played in the same zip code, but not often. As a matter of fact, Kevin Klein remembers developing a flow chart just to keep the players straight. Whether it was Sophie playing in Siren for the Blizzard, or Grace in Amery with the boys’ program, the winter calendar looked like a dictionary from time to time. If a car company was looking for a spokesperson to promote the newest brand of tires, they missed out. Amy Klein would have been perfect.
“When the kids were younger and on several different teams, the car would stay warm between the many trips to the rink for everyone’s practice times,” Amy said. “It felt like we’d just keep driving circles around town from about 5:30 to 10 p.m. Of course, hot chocolate, ice cream, sandwiches, reheated casserole and frozen pizza helped everyone warm up and refuel before bed. As the kids reached PeeWee, Bantam and high school age, they were forced to join other associations. These were the most complicated years since my husband and I were chauffeurs, sometimes racing home from work to drive Sophie to practice in Siren for an after school practice, then Grace to Amery for an evening practice, while Kevin coached Anna in St. Croix Falls. My husband and I both have careers and during this time I was finishing a master’s degree, so managing the practice and game schedule for three different associations was tricky and sometimes beyond what we could do as a family. We had to call on other families to farm our kids out in order to get to games on the weekends if they were in opposite directions or the game times made it impossible.”
Maybe not impossible but definitely improbable.
“My sophomore year, when I played for the Blizzard, I didn’t have a ride all of the time, so my mom always had to drive all the way to Siren which is 45 minutes, come back and then take Grace to Amery for her to play which is 20 minutes there and back. She would be getting back at 11 almost every night and she had a teaching job she was handling,” Sophie Klein recalled. “It was really nice. And of course all of the money – hockey is an expensive sport to play. My dad was a coach, too. That was nice to have him on the ice with us. He got to teach us how to play hockey. That was a great experience to have.”
Dedication is a word that keeps floating to the surface when discussing the Kleins’ journey from frozen pond to frozen pond over the years. For example, this past season as members of the Stars – a girls’ hockey co-op incorporating players from New Richmond, Somerset, Osceola and St. Croix Falls – Sophie, Grace and Anna often found themselves in a vehicle at 4:30 in the morning on their way to New Richmond, for practice. While most kids their age were nestled in their beds, the Klein sisters were taking the 45-minute trip (one way), singing to the radio just to stay awake. Whenever morning practice wasn’t on the agenda, they would head south for an evening practice that would put them on the ice right around the time most go to bed. Throw in homework responsibilities and the Klein’s off-season track and cross country regimen, and you begin to see why the St. Croix Falls sisters quickly stuck out from the rest of the pack.
“It’s hard. It gets super long, going to New Richmond to play. We are definitely committed, that’s what we want to do,” Grace Klein said. “It just means we have to drive, that’s just the way it is”.
“It’s a huge commitment,” Anna Klein added. “It definitely makes you stronger. It sometimes gets tough; you think about quitting sometimes – those nights where you have homework and you get home late, but then you think about how it really wouldn’t be worth it to give up.”
“That’s pretty impressive that they get up at four in the morning, drive 45 minutes one way to get to practice and then another 45 minutes to go to school and they are still on the A honor roll,” Kevin said. “That’s impressive that they can maintain that.”
For a dad, the smile is a mile long, for several reasons. Certainly pride, but Kevin Klein will also admit that some of the joy on his face has to do with much-needed relaxation. You see, some time ago Kevin and Amy looked into their crystal ball and saw the possibility that after all of running, the driving, the road trips anywhere and everywhere to see their daughters play, the 2015-16 season was going to be the year when Sophie, Grace and Anna finally played together on the same team.
The “golden year,” as the Kleins call it, was circled on the calendar a long time ago. That dream finally became reality when all three laced up their skates and took the ice for the Stars on Nov. 27, 2015, versus Rock County. Fast-forward 20 games later and the family still has a hard time summing up the experience. Sure, siblings play the same sport all of the time, but to have three siblings on one team is a rarity. While statistics certainly don’t tell the whole story, all three sisters found themselves in the lineup on a consistent basis this past season, each one registering points, including Sophie who finished her senior campaign with eight goals and 10 assists.
“It’s really fun,” Kevin said. “I think as parents we are really proud that they are out there working hard; each one is contributing. Sophie is definitely emerging as a leader. The last couple seasons, her work ethic has carried over from her other sports to the hockey rink. I think the players she plays with really like her leadership. Grace is sort of a silent playmaker. She hasn’t scored a whole lot, but she’s very good at generating plays. She’s also phenomenal at backchecking and the defensive play. She will make great plays without a lot of flare. Anna is starting to come into her own. She’s got a lot of hustle, a great skater. She has a lot of skill and is learning. She’s starting to gain that confidence and emerge as a real solid player.”
“I’m glad I got to play with my sisters,” Sophie said. “It was fun to be on the ice with them all of the time.”
“I think I’m definitely going to miss it,” Anna said. “I treasure having this experience. We have always been close, but I think it’s made it better.”
“Giving them the chance to bond together as siblings, I think they all push one another,” Kevin said. “You don’t want to let down your teammates, but then you add another level and you don’t want to let down your siblings.”
They didn’t. Instead, they played for one another. While each one admits track and cross country are their go-to sports, they also admit that the “team” atmosphere surrounding the hockey rink has been contagious. Always having the others back, giving 100 percent for the person to the left and right of you, no matter the score. A family, both literally and figuratively.
“They’ve learned that the game is not about winning; they have rarely been on winning teams, and it’s not about scoring –they are not high scorers,” Amy said. “They know absolutely that it’s about doing your best in all situations and never giving up. As a family, we’ve spent long car rides together, sitting through long tournaments and felt intense pride in both amazing winning and pathetic losing situations. I honestly can’t imagine what the girls would be like without the character-shaping influence of hockey.”
The connection between sports and life. The Klein connection. The Klein line.
Andrew Vitalis writes columns in LPH geared towards Wisconsin hockey. He can be reached at lphprep@yahoo.com.
