Key Highlights
- Laila Edwards set to become the first Black woman to play for Team USA in the Winter Olympics.
- Edwards grew up playing hockey with her siblings in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
- Her journey includes overcoming racial slurs and navigating the challenges of being a minority in ice hockey.
- The Edwards family’s dedication to supporting Laila helped shape her into an Olympic athlete.
The Making of an Olympian
Imagine growing up with black puck marks on your living room walls, playing goalie at the age of five. That’s what Laila Edwards experienced in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Her journey to becoming the first Black woman to play for Team USA in the Winter Olympics is nothing short of remarkable.
A Family’s Commitment
Robert and Charone Edwards supported their children’s passion for hockey, even when it meant sacrificing family traditions like Easter dinner. They took Laila and her siblings to ‘Learn How to Skate’ sessions at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, where the walls were adorned with black puck marks from countless indoor games. “We taped our sticks the same as Ovechkin,” Bobby Edwards recalls. “Laila was always ahead of us in skill.”
Breaking Barriers
The Edwards family faced racial slurs and discrimination, but Laila’s mother remembers a moment that changed everything. Dean, Seanna Conway’s husband, coached them during one particularly tough time. “I got back to the bench and I was crying,” Edwards says. “He comforted me and was just there for me. It meant a lot.”
Yet, the challenges didn’t end with words.
Laila also had to navigate the physicality of the sport. In one memorable clinic, she shot on an older goalie despite being significantly younger. “The move she did on this kid who was probably five years older than her? Boom.
Boom. Boom,” Bobby Edwards remembers proudly.
From Cleveland Heights to the Olympics
Laila’s journey took her from the Cleveland Barons to Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, New York. There, she trained with top talent and learned how to handle the pressure of being a standout player. Kathy Pippy, one of the most influential figures in girls’ and women’s hockey, recognized Laila’s potential and recruited her.
Now, at 22 years old, Laila Edwards is poised to make history.
She will play defense for Team USA in the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, facing Czechia on Thursday at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena (10:40 a.m. ET). “I’m extremely grateful and I can’t even put it into words,” Edwards says. “But there have been plenty of times where I felt overwhelmed. I’m like, ‘What do I do with this?
I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. It’s a positive, but how do I turn this into something that’s consistently positive?’ “
For Laila Edwards and the Edwards family, the road to the Olympics was long and arduous. But their commitment has paid off in ways they never could have imagined.
