Lauren Fowler plays on the River City hockey team of the North Alabama Hockey Association’s high school league based out of Decatur. | Brent Maze

Fowler plays on Decatur prep hockey team

Debbie and James Fowler had no idea that hockey would be in the future of their daughter, Lauren.

During the summer of 2012, Lauren took a hockey class. Since then, she’s been hooked on the sport.

“I just fell in love with it,” said Lauren, who is a sophomore at Hartselle High School. “My brother (Chase) played hockey when he was younger, and we watched the (Huntsville) Havoc play. I’ve always skated as much as I could. I wanted to give hockey a try and I really enjoyed it.”

Fowler plays on the River City hockey team based out of Decatur. They play in the North Alabama Hockey Association’s high school league. Currently, River City is 4-2 and is in second place in the league.

Fowler plays defense for River City for this reason:

“I like to hit people,” she said.

James said it’s illegal for girls to get hit during a game, but there’s no rule against girls hitting guys on the ice.

“She can hit them as hard as she wants,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t get hit. Although once we get into travel season, there aren’t any rules against her getting hit.”

For an aspiring hockey player that she does, Lauren has the perfect job for that. She works at the Point Mallard Ice Complex. That allows her to get valuable time on the ice while doing her job.

“I love my job,” Lauren said.

High school hockey plays three 15-minute periods with intermissions between each of the periods. Fowler said they change out the lines every two to three minutes at a time.

One of Lauren’s favorite aspects of hockey is the speed of the game.