Barbara Lawlor, Nederland. When Ellie Brewer was in kindergarten she fell in love with skating at NedRink through the Nederland Elementary School Winter Adventure Days. A two-day all-school program that introduces students to snow-shoeing, alpine and nordic skiing, snowboarding and skating, figure or hockey.

It's a fun two days, it's healthy and it's great to get out of two days of classes.

It was more than that to Ellie Brewer. She knew she wanted to play hockey; she wanted to see the ice chips sparkle away from her blades, hear the scrape of metal against ice, feel the satisfaction of cracking her stick against the puck, making a swift, accurate pass, scoring a goal.

Ellie played hard, learned the game, practiced and played with the guys. Then her sister Madi joined her and their dad Alan became involved with the Nederland Youth Hockey Association and the rink. Finally Tracy, the mom, gave in and joined the rest of the Brewer hockey team, getting together with her female friends, putting on the protective gear, the helmet, the face mask, the knee pads.

Three nights a week, the women get together and play against and with each other. Ellie and Maddie whiz around them like lightning bugs, reaching for the puck, whizzing past their opponents.

Last week, the women hockey skaters decided it was time for a name. With over a dozen women meeting on a regular basis, on a drop-in basis, they wanted to let the world know they existed, were passionate about the sport and they were ready for action.

The High-heeled Shooters were born, a mix of girlie and grit and guts on the ice.

All women are welcome to join this intrepid bunch of women. Just show up at the rink on Mondays, 5:45-7 p.m., Thursdays, 6:45-8 p.m. and Sundays, 8-9:15 a.m.