Episode 31: Carla Pentimone

Welcome back everyone!  In this episode I am joined by Carla Pentimone, Founder of Women's College Hockey Recruiting.  Learn about her 6 pillars to getting recruited, the growth of women's hockey, what do scouts look for in a player, parents role, and so much more.

Carla began playing hockey in the Chicagoland for AAA teams including Team Illinois, the Chicago Mission and the Chicago Young Americans, while double-rostering as captain of the Loyola Academy Girls Varsity Team. Her Junior and Senior Year of High School, she was a member of USA Hockey’s U18 National Development Program at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY. Carla went on to play NCAA Division I college ice hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the Badgers. While attending UW, she coached Wheelchair Hockey and received the Badger Community Service Award. Carla also is a two-time National Champion – winning in 2009 and 2011 with the Wisconsin Badgers under former Olympic gold medalist Mark Johnson and with two-time Olympic gold medalists Meghan Duggan (captain), Hillary Knight, Alex Rigsby, and Brianna Decker. In her senior year, she earned the Senior Badger Award for the Most Inspiring Player.

After her time at Wisconsin, Carla went on to get her master’s degree in business communication at Northwestern University, all the while coaching at organizations such as the Chicago Young Americans AAA and New Trier Girls Varsity. Her Chicago Young American’s team went to USA Hockey Nationals. Carla also helped guide the New Trier Girls Varsity Trevians to the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois State Championship in 2014 and they won a state high school championship at the United Center. In 2015, she completed the Madison Ironman. After grad school, Carla worked with a corporate recruiting agency as the North American Ice Hockey Recruiting coach.

Carla’s philanthropic endeavors include coaching for the Chicago Blackhawks Blind Hockey team. She is also a chair for a non-profit organization ICE- Inner City Education, where she mentors underprivileged children. Additionally, Carla is a Girls Committee Chair for USA Hockey and also gives presentations for USA Hockey to new aspiring coaches as a Coaching Education Program Instructor. Her favorite part about working for JDM is being able to assist student-athletes from all over the world reach their full potential. She wants to help student-athletes achieve their college hockey goals and to realize that success is a journey and not a destination along the way.

Carla is also employed by American International Sports Travel. She recruited three groups of elite female hockey players for international ice hockey tournaments and tours. The groups, representing the United States in their respective tournaments, went to the United World Game in Klagenfurt, Austria, and made stops in Germany and in Italy. In addition, in April 2019, she took an elite U16 group to the Lions Cup, in Helsinki Finland, making stops in Sweden and Estonia. The team was also able to witness an exciting overtime World Championship win, where many of their Olympic Female Hockey player idols, who were former teammates of Carla, greeted these hopefuls with smiles, autographs and photo opportunities.

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