In Canada, hockey is just one of those sports that appeals to a lot of athletic-minded kids. Sarah Burke was no exception to this rule and grew up a die hard hockey fan who wanted to get more involved in the sport at the first opportunity that she could. Initially her parents encouraged her to play ringette like a lot of the other girls in her community, but it just didn't appeal as much to her and she wanted to play the "real thing", the sport that so many young Canadians aspire towards. Thanks to the support of her family she was able to get all of the equipment she needed at a young age, and she was lucky to have the opportunity to play in a mixed/co-ed youth league that gave her the opportunity to compete with a wider demographic in the sport and prove she could be a true competitor in a league among men, mooses, and all other dynamic characters.