Where Your Feet Are: Inside Hayley Scamurra’s Journey to Las Vegas and Team USA

What does the offseason look like for an Olympic gold medalist and Walter Cup champion?

Apparently, not much like an offseason.

For Hayley Scamurra, the stretch between seasons has included national-team camps, a cross-country road trip, moving into a new home, red-eye flights, PWHL media days, girls hockey events, training with a college club team, and another tryout for Team USA.

And the professional season has not even started.

In this installment of the Our Girls Play Hockey: Day in the Life series, Hayley gives us a remarkable glimpse into what life actually looks like at the highest level of women’s hockey.

The travel is exciting.

The opportunities are incredible.

But behind all of it is a lesson that applies to every young athlete:

Success does not eliminate uncertainty.

You still have to show up.

You still have to prepare.

And you still have to earn what comes next.

From Team USA Camp to the Open Road

The journey started with a Team USA evaluation camp in Minnesota.

At that stage, nobody knew exactly when the World Championship roster would be finalized.

So Hayley approached the week as another opportunity to train.

Skate.

Work out.

Spend time with teammates.

Get better.

Team USA also attended several major sporting events, giving players another chance to experience the excitement surrounding their Olympic gold medal.

Fans wanted to see the medals.

They shared stories about watching the Olympic games.

They thanked the players.

And Hayley was able to see firsthand how far the impact of the team reached beyond the rink.

Representing a Country Feels Different When You Travel Through It

Soon afterward, Hayley and her husband, Nick, began driving across the United States.

It was something Hayley had always wanted to do.

Instead of racing from Maryland to Nevada, they turned the move into an eight-day adventure.

There were long stretches of highway.

Wide-open landscapes.

Vail.

Moab.

Kansas.

And one of Hayley’s favorite stops: Arches National Park.

The experience also brought a different perspective.

Hayley represents the United States when she plays internationally.

Now she was traveling through the country itself.

Seeing its landscapes.

Meeting people who recognized her Olympic necklace.

Hearing stories from fans who watched Team USA win gold.

There is something uniquely powerful about representing a place and then experiencing more of the people and geography that make up that place.

Seeing Las Vegas Differently

Eventually, the desert opened and Las Vegas appeared.

And something changed.

This was not a vacation.

Hayley and Nick were not arriving for a weekend.

They were moving there.

The city was now home.

That moment is relatable even if you are nowhere near professional hockey.

Transitions often feel theoretical until suddenly they are real.

A new team.

A new school.

A new city.

A new locker room.

You can prepare for months.

But sometimes it does not truly register until you arrive.

Then She Left Again

Of course, Hayley barely had time to process the move.

She arrived in Las Vegas around midday.

That night, she boarded a red-eye flight to Toronto.

Welcome home.

Now leave.

The destination was a major PWHL media event involving players from across the league.

For Las Vegas, the event carried even more significance because the expansion franchise was preparing to reveal more of its identity.

Uniforms.

Photos.

Promotional videos.

Social media content.

League marketing.

This was part of building something brand new.

The Work Behind the Photos

Fans eventually see the finished product.

The photo.

The commercial.

The social post.

The jersey reveal.

What they do not see is everything required to make it happen.

Early mornings.

Hair and makeup.

Long stretches waiting for different stations.

On-ice filming.

Off-ice interviews.

More filming.

More photos.

Repeat.

Hayley makes a point to recognize the people behind those productions.

The photographers.

Makeup artists.

Hair stylists.

Video crews.

League personnel.

The people arriving before the athletes and leaving afterward.

That observation offers an important lesson for young players.

Respect Everyone Who Makes the Experience Possible

As athletes advance, more people become involved in their journey.

Equipment managers.

Athletic trainers.

Drivers.

Coaches.

Communications staff.

Volunteers.

Facility workers.

Media teams.

The higher you go, the easier it can become to think everything simply appears for you.

It doesn't.

Someone did the work.

Respecting that work is part of being a professional.

More Visibility, More Pressure

One major difference in Hayley’s life now is visibility.

She is an Olympic champion.

A Walter Cup champion.

A veteran player joining a new franchise.

And she is appearing prominently in Las Vegas marketing.

For a young athlete, that can sound like the dream.

Everyone sees you.

Everyone knows your name.

But visibility also creates pressure.

Now people expect something.

You may start thinking:

“I have to play differently.”

“I need to prove why they picked me.”

“I need to do more.”

Hayley’s response is the opposite.

Do Not Become Someone Else Because People Are Watching

Hayley’s approach is simple:

Keep doing what got you there.

Play the right way.

Do the little things.

Be a good teammate.

Work.

Lead.

Stay yourself.

Being recognized does not mean becoming a different athlete.

That applies to young players too.

Maybe you make the top team.

Maybe you receive a letter on your jersey.

Maybe you become the leading scorer.

Maybe everyone suddenly starts telling you how good you are.

The answer is not to reinvent yourself.

The answer is to keep building the habits that created the opportunity.

Pressure Can Be a Privilege

There is a balance.

You should appreciate opportunities.

You can be grateful people believe in you.

But gratitude does not mean doubting whether you belong.

Hayley earned her opportunities through years of work.

That creates a powerful combination:

Gratitude for the opportunity and confidence that you belong in it.

That is very different from arrogance.

Confidence says:

“I trust the work I've done.”

Arrogance says:

“I don't need to keep doing the work.”

At the elite level, the work never stops.

Finally, a Routine

After Toronto, Hayley returned to Vegas.

For roughly three weeks, she finally experienced something that had been missing for much of the summer:

Routine.

Wake up.

Train.

Skate.

Work out.

Recover.

Repeat.

The consistency felt good.

When your life becomes chaotic, routine can become an anchor.

Finding Ice Wherever You Can

There was another challenge.

The PWHL season had not begun.

Vegas was a new market.

Most teammates were still elsewhere.

Hayley needed people to skate with.

The UNLV hockey team welcomed her into practices.

It is another reminder of how interconnected hockey can be.

Even at the highest levels, athletes sometimes need another team to say:

“Come skate.”

Eventually, more Las Vegas players arrived, and Hayley began skating with future teammates.

The new chapter started feeling more real.

Growing Girls Hockey in Florida

Then another opportunity appeared.

The Florida Panthers invited Hayley to participate in a girls hockey weekend.

Her first reaction was understandable.

More travel?

She had barely stopped moving.

But the opportunity mattered.

Girls hockey is growing in nontraditional markets, and Florida has invested in that growth.

Hayley saw an opportunity to contribute.

So she went.

Sometimes Saying Yes Matters

Hayley participated in a Try Hockey for Free event.

She worked with adult beginners.

She held a mentorship session with young girls.

And the questions kept coming.

That is one of the most encouraging signals in girls hockey.

Young players are curious.

They want information.

They want role models.

They want to understand what is possible.

For decades, girls did not always have professional women available to answer those questions.

Now they do.

Then Back to Team USA

After another trip back to Vegas, Hayley traveled again.

This time to Detroit.

Another Team USA camp.

Another tryout.

Another roster that had not yet been selected.

And here is perhaps the most important lesson in the entire episode:

Past success does not guarantee the next opportunity.

Hayley has an Olympic gold medal.

She has a Walter Cup championship.

She has years of national-team experience.

She still has to make the team.

Nobody Is Completely Immune to Nerves

Hayley admits that this camp feels different.

There is anxiety.

Excitement.

Uncertainty.

A new Olympic cycle has begun.

Nobody knows exactly what the roster will look like.

That should matter to young players who think elite athletes never feel nervous.

They do.

The difference is often how they respond.

Just Get to the Ice

Hayley says most of her anxiety happens before practice.

Before the game.

During the buildup.

Then she gets on the ice.

And things settle.

Lee describes a similar experience.

Just get to the ice.

For hockey players, the place that seems like it should create the most pressure can actually become the most peaceful place.

The skates go on.

The puck drops.

Now you play.

Stay Where Your Feet Are

Hayley uses another powerful phrase when describing how she handles roster uncertainty:

Focus on where your feet are.

Not next week.

Not the roster announcement.

Not Denmark.

Not PWHL training camp.

Today.

This practice.

This conversation.

This moment.

That mindset can prevent athletes from spiraling into things they cannot control.

Your Teammates Can Be Your Competition and Your Support System

Team USA camp creates an unusual dynamic.

Players are competing for spots.

At the same time, they are friends and teammates.

They walk together.

Explore.

Talk.

Work on puzzles.

Support one another.

That may seem contradictory.

It isn't.

Healthy competition does not require rooting against someone else.

You can want your opportunity and still care about the person competing for it.

That is part of strong team culture.

Then Comes Canada

The next step is competition.

Two scrimmages against Canada.

For many players, these will be their first true games since the previous season ended.

The pace will rise.

Physicality returns.

Decisions become faster.

Competition becomes real again.

And then the roster decision follows.

And There Is Almost No Break

If Hayley makes the World Championship roster, the schedule accelerates even more.

Travel to Denmark.

Compete for another gold medal.

Fly back to North America.

Get home.

Then almost immediately begin PWHL training camp.

The regular season is supposed to be the busy part.

Hayley’s offseason might disagree.

Professional Hockey Is Not Always Glamorous

There is tremendous glamour surrounding elite sports.

Olympics.

Championships.

Professional uniforms.

Media shoots.

Big arenas.

But behind those things are:

Airports.

Red-eyes.

Packing.

Waiting.

Training alone.

Finding ice.

Jet lag.

Tryouts.

Uncertainty.

Constant adjustment.

Those realities do not make the dream less exciting.

They make the accomplishment more impressive.

The Lesson for Young Players

You do not need Hayley Scamurra’s travel schedule to learn from her experience.

There are lessons everywhere in this episode:

Stay yourself when people start noticing you.

Respect the people helping you.

Find routines during chaos.

Say yes to meaningful opportunities.

Accept that success does not guarantee the next roster.

Support teammates even when you are competing.

And when your mind starts racing too far ahead—

Look down.

Remember where your feet are.

Handle what is in front of you.

Then take the next step.

The Day in the Life Continues

That is what makes following Hayley’s journey so valuable.

We are not only seeing the medals.

We are seeing what happens between them.

The travel.

The nerves.

The work.

The relationships.

The uncertainty.

The next opportunity.

And somewhere listening is a young girl who dreams about representing her country or playing professional hockey one day.

This is what that dream can actually look like.

It is exciting.

It is demanding.

It is unpredictable.

And it is absolutely worth pursuing.

Keep following Our Girls Play Hockey and the Day in the Life series as Hayley Scamurra takes us behind the scenes of Team USA, the World Championships, her new life in Las Vegas, and the next chapter of her professional hockey career.