Young Woman Considered Contender for Olympic Gold

Krissy Wendell is all about Kingdom goals, having been a Christian since the age of five and having been raised in a Christian home in Brooklyn Park.

Wendell is setting her sights on another goal for a few months, one that she hopes will end with a gold medal wrapped around her neck. Wendell, who attends Redeemer Covenant Church in Brooklyn Park, is considered a strong candidate to make the 2002 United States Olympic women's hockey team that will play in Salt Lake City, Utah, next winter. She's striving to help the U.S. squad reach the goal of repeating its gold medal winning ways of the 1998 Olympics.

This summer, Wendell is readying for the U.S. Olympic hockey festival, scheduled for the end of August in Lake Placid, New York. A 25-player roster will be selected from 40 participants after competition at the festival. That roster will be pared to 20 players just before the Olympic games. The U.S. team is considered the second best women's hockey team in the world. Longtime rival Canada edged the U.S. 3-2 in the finals of the 2001 International Hockey Federation Women's World Championships April 8.

"The way I've grown up, you just strive to get to the next level, and the next level is the Olympics," said Wendell. "Now that I've had a chance to play with the (U.S. Olympic) team, I haven't taken it all in yet. I'm trying not to think about the Olympics too much. I don't want to get ahead of myself because there are steps to get there."

A 5-foot-7 forward, the 19-year-old Wendell has prepared well for the 2002 Olympics, having led the U.S. women's team in scoring during the past regular season. When she finishes her commitment for Team USA, she will play collegiate hockey, having signed a letter of intent to play women's hockey for the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2002. She's already made an impression on her future teammates, scoring the game-winning goal in an April exhibition win over the Gophers while playing before her hometown fans. But more than impressing people with her skills, Wendell has focused on keeping her faith intact on the ice.

"I've grown up as a Christian, so it's always been integrated," said Wendell about how faith and hockey coexist in her value system. "The biggest thing I've noticed is that I've been more at peace with things. No matter what I do, everything's in God's control and He is going to decide what direction I'm going to go - He will take care of that."

In March, Wendell had an opportunity to learn about God's providence firsthand. Two weeks before the regular season ended, she was diagnosed with mononucleosis and was sent home to rest while the team prepared for the world championships. She ranks that period as one of the most difficult in her life.

"I had worked hard, but mono is not something you can get rid of by taking a pill," she said. "You have to just let it work itself out. I couldn't go out and work my way back onto the team because I was on bed rest. I got cleared when I was home and I was with the team again three days before the world championships."

Wendell had plenty of sibling guidance as she began her athletic career. Parents Larry (an accomplished hockey and softball player) and Drenda urged Krissy to play sports at the highest levels she could, which usually meant competing against the boys during her childhood. Usually that meant playing with brother, Erik, who was two years older. Krissy admires Erik's athletic abilities. He is playing for the University of Minnesota's men's hockey team after having been drafted by the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals. Krissy says Erik has impressed her even more in how he competes as a Christian.

"We're very similar in a lot of areas, but he's more calm and reserved and I'm more outgoing and spontaneous," Wendell said. "Erik is a great role model, a great strong Christian playing at a high level. I couldn't have a better older brother."

Dad coached Krissy and Erik for a time in Little League, with Erik pitching and Krissy catching. Once Erik left Little League, Krissy continued to hold her own in baseball, helping her 1994 Little League All-Star baseball team earn a trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Playing catcher and third base, she became the first female ever to start in the Little League World Series. She continued to play hockey with Erik and the boys in the neighborhood and counts those experiences as among her most cherished.

"I can't even explain how fortunate I was to play with the guys at an early age, and I was fortunate to play with wonderful players in baseball and hockey," Wendell said. "They were more than accepting to me and they're still pretty good friends. There wasn't any other place you could play (for girls) - it was fun playing against the boys. I had been playing baseball and hockey with mostly guys in my area and I never saw them as any different than me. Erik was one of the top athletes, so he had respect, and people saw me as Erik Wendell's little sister. But I had played with them for so long it wasn't a big deal."

Wendell dominated play, both for boys and girls hockey teams at Park Center High School. As a prep sophomore, she scored 12 goals in 10 boys hockey games before being injured. At that point, she decided to play with the high school girls hockey team and set state records in goal scoring as a junior and senior. She tallied 109 goals as a junior and topped that mark in her senior season with 110 goals in 27 games while helping lead her team to the state title. The nation's top women's prep hockey scorer with 166 points, Wendell was named Ms. Hockey in Minnesota for her efforts.

During her junior year of high school, Wendell was selected to play for the U.S. national team and has continued to play with the squad since her high school hockey season ended. "I was so excited to be playing for the United States team, especially because it was the first tournament after we had won the Olympic gold medal. And there were a couple of others from Minnesota (Natalie Darwitz, Winnie Brodt and Jenny Schmidgall) on the team that I knew."

Wendell says that being a Christian doesn't keep her from playing with competitive fire. It's off the ice that she notices how her faith makes her different from some of her teammates. She has received plenty of support from her family, which has made it easier to transition into world-class hockey. "They've been 125 percent supportive every day, being an encouragement when I need a phone call and letting me know they'll love me no mater how far I go in the sport," Wendell said.

Hockey Ministries International, a local parachurch organization run by Bill Butters, has given Wendell an opportunity to share her time and testimony during the off season. She likes being a role model for the kids she coaches and for sister Kara (age seven), who also plays hockey. Her favorite Bible verse, Psalm 37:4, reminds her to give her sport to the Lord. She strives to continually give her heart to God as God continually blesses her efforts on the ice.

"The most difficult thing was having so many influences around and knowing what's right and wrong without being influenced (negatively)," she said. You're around so many different settings and you have to take time to attend church and be with the Lord. We had games every Sunday, so I had my own study time. I'd read my Bible and I'd call a friend and ask them what they studied at the church service.

"I don't feel any added pressure being a Christian," she continued. "I'm not the kind who mopes after a loss and I just love to play the game. I see myself as more of an example for other athletes. Being a Christian is not restrictive at all. You can still go off and try to fulfill your dreams."

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