Okay, so I’ve been diving deep into the world of women’s hockey lately – specifically, how players move between teams. It’s a whole thing, and let me tell you, figuring it all out felt like learning a new language at first. I wanted to get a better handle on this, so I decided to explore this “transfer portal” thing I kept hearing about.
Getting Started
First, I just started googling. You know, “women’s hockey transfer portal,” “NCAA women’s hockey transfers,” stuff like that. I found some articles, some official-looking websites, but honestly, it was a lot of information and kind of overwhelming. I was not able to find useful information that was consolidated, so I decided to try and figure out how to track this myself.
Digging Deeper
Then I started to investigate certain popular sports websites. I looked at team rosters, season stats, and any news articles I could find about player movement. I even checked out some college hockey team websites directly. That helped a little, but it was still a super manual process.
Building My Own Tracker
Because it was so difficult to track all of the information I decided to just start my own tracker!
- I started a simple spreadsheet. Nothing fancy, just columns for player names, old teams, new teams, and any dates or notes I could find.
- I spent a few hours each day just browsing those websites and copying information into my spreadsheet.
- It was slow going at first, but as I got more familiar with the teams and players, it got a little easier.
- The biggest problem is staying updated. I keep the file on my desktop, and then periodically I’ll do more web searching to make sure my data is fresh.
My “Aha!” Moment (Sort Of)
Honestly, there wasn’t one big “aha!” moment. It was more like a slow dawning of understanding. I started to see patterns – like, certain teams seemed to be losing a lot of players, while others were gaining them. I realized that this whole transfer thing is a big deal for the teams and the players, and it can really change the game.
Still Learning
I’m definitely still learning, and my spreadsheet is far from perfect. But it’s my spreadsheet, and it’s helping me make sense of this whole transfer portal thing. It’s kind of cool to feel like I’m building my own little database of women’s hockey knowledge. I realized by doing this project that I could also apply it to other sports or areas I’m curious about.
