Harvard women’s ice hockey senior Gabi Davidson Adams knows the value of sports as a convener across backgrounds and experiences. 

Though many of these lessons came on the ice at Bright-Landry Hockey Center, she found some of the most meaningful moments with her sport came last summer – far from the familiarity of a freezing rink.

She had traveled to the remote Tigman Village in the Philippines for three weeks with the non-profit organization Sticks Together, which introduces the sport of hockey to underprivileged communities around the world. 

“I love the idea and message behind Sticks Together,” said the Kirkland resident. “Hockey is traditionally a cold climate sport, but you can really play hockey anywhere – all you need is a ball, stick, and a net.”

Founded by current St. Lawrence women’s ice hockey student-athlete Sarah Thompson, Sticks Together aims to introduce hockey to children in communities outside of North America and Europe. Since its founding in 2022, Sticks Together volunteers have traveled to Argentina, South Africa and the Philippines. Davidson Adams joined five other women’s ice hockey student-athletes from various National Collegiate Athletic Association programs, in Tigman Village, a small community in the Philippines with a population of around 1,900 people, teaching them how to control a ball with a stick, how to shoot, and the general rules of hockey. 

“In the morning, we would host a pair of two-hour practice sessions with the kids on a basketball court in the center of the village,” said Davidson Adams, who is concentrating in sociology. “That court became our rink. We brought sticks, nets and balls, and left them there after the trip.”

During the opening days of the trip, the initial group of students was a small collection of children from the village who learned to control the ball with a stick and how to shoot. But as the trip progressed, Davidson Adams said, the group grew beyond the residents of the village itself as around 80 local children participated in the practices.

“The kids learned the rules of the game and how to play very quickly,” she said. “It started off as a small group of kids, but through word of mouth, we started to see a lot of kids from other villages start to show up. It was really nice to see hockey bring everyone together in that community.”

When Davidson Adams came back to campus, she and the rest of the Sticks Together volunteers received videos and photos of kids playing street hockey long after they left. She realized she learned as much as she had taught.

“Everyone says that sports builds a sense of community, but I truly saw it there, sport is really special in that way,” she said. “The people in Tigman Village were so welcoming, caring and resilient. It made me appreciate what I have and not take anything for granted.”

“It’s so nice to know that the game continues to be played even though we’re not there,” Davidson Adams added. “That is super fulfilling, knowing our impact is still alive, the kids are still playing and learning.”