#WUAlmaty2017: USA’S Rachael Booth has some Great Hockey Advice for Young Athletes

ALMATY — Rachael Booth is half way through her final year playing ice hockey for Miami University in the United States of America. She’s also competing at her final Winter Universiade, and as she reminisces about her career, she’s got some great advice for young athletes.

“Have fun,” she said. “If you have a bad shift, don’t let it get to you. Go out there, give it your all but don’t get down; if you get down on yourself, it’s only downhill from there.”

Right now, Booth is the second all-time leading goal scorer for Miami University and is also third in the assist category which makes her first overall in the school’s history in points.

“I couldn’t do it without my teammates and the coaching staff, and just, all the hard work pays off. I owe it all to my teammates…” she said. “You’ve got to take every game like it’s your last … and just enjoy the game.”

Booth is competing at her second Winter Universiade; she was part of USA’s women’s ice hockey team also at the 2015 Granada Winter Universiade.

“This experience is unbelievable,” she said. “Wearing this USA jersey, you can’t describe that feeling.”

Two years ago in Granada, the USA lost to Japan in the preliminary round 4 to 1, and Booth says it feels good to finally get a victory over them.

“Coming into this game, we knew they’d be good and we knew that we could beat them with that heart and hard work,” she said with a smile. “Just being able to beat a good team is something I’ll never forget.”

Kelcey Wright Johnson, U-Media Reporter

Watch the full interview video here.