As a first-generation Mexican American growing up in Los Angeles, Estela Rivas-Bryant discovered
hockey later than most, but she has made up for lost time. Now she’s working hard to ensure that other Hispanic girls won’t have to wait so long to join the party.

Like many young girls in what were once considered “non-traditional hockey
markets,” Rivas-Bryant wasn’t exposed to many of the things some young girls may take for granted today.

“We didn’t grow up with sports and all that,” Rivas-Bryant recalls. “You went to school, you came home, you did your chores and that was it.”

Like many other Los Angelenos, she caught the hockey bug when Wayne Gretzky came to town in 1988. She had a friend with a young son who wanted to learn to play hockey and Rivas-Bryant went looking for a place where he could start. She quickly discovered a game that would change not only her life, but the lives of a growing number of girls.

Chalk up yet another assist to the Great One.

In addition to learning to play, Rivas-Bryant also coached a local roller hockey team and enrolled in USA Hockey coaching clinics.

She couldn’t help but notice that something was missing, though, as her passion for the game grew: people who looked and sounded like her. That set the wheels in motion for her to create The Empowerment Effect, a nonprofit organization for girls in the Los Angeles area that focuses on ice hockey and mentorship.

More than just providing them with free equipment, coaching and ice time, the
program gives girls confidence and a sense of self-worth on and off the ice.

“My goal is to make that hour that they’re with us on the ice the best [and] most
positive hour that they have,” Rivas-Bryant says. “If they come to the rink and they’re on the ice for an hour, even if they’re
struggling but they feel empowered and they feel like that struggle is worth it and they see progress, that carries over into everything they do.”

Her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Rivas-Bryant was presented with the 2024 Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award in the United States, which is given to an individual who has positively impacted their community, culture or society through their involvement in hockey.

“It took a second for the news to sink in,” she admits after the NHL made the announcement on June 13. “Then I was overwhelmed with pride for my kids, for the program and for all the volunteers that helped us get to where we are.”

More than just providing validation that the hard work put in by so many over the past two years has been worth it, she is looking to ride that wave of momentum to create more opportunities to help even more girls throughout Southern California, and beyond.

“We’re doing great things, and I want people to know about our program,” says Rivas-Bryant, who is a production
supervisor for unscripted television shows and documentaries. “More importantly, I want people to know that they can do this in their own cities and in their own communities.
To quote Field of Dreams, ‘If you build it, they will come.’

“Somebody just has to start it.”

The program’s success stems not only from Rivas-Bryant’s constant drive and unwillingness to take “no” for an answer, but from her ability to create a team of dedicated volunteers recruited from the local women’s hockey community. Together they have not only solicited equipment, but they continue to serve as coaches and role models.

With a background of working with non-profit organizations, Rivas-Bryant reached out to various local organizations, including the Los Angeles Kings, to get the program off the ground. She also works with local agencies to find girls who were living in the margins and at risk of making the wrong decisions in life. All they needed, she says, is a place where they could feel like they belong.

There is no cost for participating in the program, other than a $75 refundable deposit for the equipment. Approximately half of the families in the program receive scholarships to help foot that bill.

“We are not going to ask them to not put food on their table to put the deposit down,” she says.

Neither Rivas-Bryant nor any of her
fellow volunteers take a nickel for all the time and effort they put into the program. She has tried to reward her coaches with gas cards, but they in turn gave them to the families who can use any help they can get.

More than just learning hockey skills, the girls focus on how they can make their community a better place. The results are almost immediate. Parents come to the rink and say they’re able to have more constructive conversations at home, and they’ve seen a noticeable improvement in the girls’ schoolwork.

“Every opportunity is a teaching opportunity. We’re just using hockey to do it,” Rivas-Bryant says.

“We talk about paying it forward. How do we do things right? How do you make a change within your community? It starts at home,” she says. “We talk about doing something as simple as making your bed without your parents
asking you to or
helping a friend with her homework. It doesn’t take a lot to start making a difference.”

She knows that those opportunities aren’t confined to the insides of a hockey rink. Rivas-Bryant has also reached out to other Latinas who are doing great things in their communities and are happy to serve as role
models to help the next generation get even farther ahead.

“I want our kids to feel like they belong no matter where you are or where you’re going,” she says.

That’s always been the driving force for Rivas-Bryant and her team. And what’s best for both the short- and long-term are a series of goals that includes expanding the
program further south into neighboring Orange County where the Anaheim Ducks have expressed interest in getting involved.

In the meantime, she continues to fight to create more opportunities for any girl who wants to join her program and embark on her own hockey journey. She will continue to lobby for more funding and scratch and claw for more ice time in what is already a tight market.

Still, buoyed by the acknowledgement and accolades that have come with being associated with one of the game’s greatest ambassadors, Rivas-Bryant is excited to follow O’Ree’s example of creating opportunities in the game for people from all walks of life.

“The next five years are going to be fabulous,” she predicts. “My goal is to double our numbers and make a bigger impact in more areas and have all these kids walk in super tall and super proud of themselves and have them all learn something new. I can’t wait for this new season.”

Story from the 2024 September issue of USA Hockey Magazine

Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 - Oct. 15. To learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month, visit www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/