Angela Ruggiero facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Angela Ruggiero |
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| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2015 | |||
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Ruggiero in November 2018
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| Born | January 3, 1980 Panorama City, California, U.S. |
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| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
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| National team |  United States |
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| Playing career | 1996–2011 | ||
Angela Marie Ruggiero (born January 3, 1980) is a famous American former ice hockey player. She played as a defenseman. Angela is a gold medalist and competed in four Winter Olympic Games. She was also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2010 to 2018. She even led the IOC Athletes' Commission, which represents all Olympic athletes around the world.
During her amazing hockey career, Angela was named the best player in college hockey by the NCAA. She was also recognized as the best player in the world by The Hockey News. The US Olympic Committee named her their Player of the Year. Angela was a key member of the U.S. Women's National Ice Hockey Team. She won medals in four Olympics: a gold medal in 1998, two silver medals in 2002 and 2010, and a bronze medal in 2006.
She also played in ten Women's World Championships. There, she won four gold medals and six silver medals. Angela was named the Best Defenseman twice at the Olympics and four times at the World Championships. In 2015, Angela Ruggiero was chosen for the Hockey Hall of Fame. She was only the fourth woman and the second American woman to receive this honor. She is also the only person from California to be inducted. Angela holds the record for playing the most games for Team USA, with 256 games. She was also inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 and the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2017.
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Playing Career Highlights
Angela Ruggiero was born in Panorama City, California. She grew up in Sylmar and then Simi Valley, California.
Early Hockey Years
Angela played high school hockey at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. While still in high school, she was the youngest player on the gold medal-winning 1998 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. This team competed in Nagano, Japan. She also helped her team win silver in 2002 in Salt Lake City, bronze in 2006 in Italy, and silver again in 2010 in Canada.
College Success at Harvard
In her final year at Harvard University, Angela won the 2004 Patty Kazmaier Award. This award goes to the top player in U.S. women's college hockey. She is the only defenseman to ever win this award. She helped Harvard win a National Championship in 1999. They were also NCAA Runner-Up in 2003 and 2004. Angela graduated from Harvard in 2004 with a degree in government. She was chosen as an All-American four times. She also received the NCAA's Top VIII Award for her success in sports, academics, and community work.
Making History in Professional Hockey
On January 28, 2005, Angela made history. She played for the Tulsa Oilers in a Central Hockey League game. She was the first woman to play in a regular professional hockey game in North America in a position other than goalie. Her brother, Bill Ruggiero, was a goalie for the Oilers. This made them the first brother-sister pair to play professionally at the same time. Angela even got an assist on a goal, becoming the only woman to score a point in a North American professional hockey game.
Angela also scored the game-winning goal in a shootout. This led the United States to win the 2005 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships against Canada. It was the first gold medal for the U.S. at this championship.
Olympic Preparations and Retirement
In December 2009, Angela was chosen for her fourth Olympic hockey team. To get ready for the 2010 Olympics, she trained with NHL players. On January 14, 2010, she was named an alternate captain for the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. At the Vancouver Olympics, she was also elected to the IOC's Athletes Commission. This gave her an eight-year term as an IOC Member. Angela played for the Boston Blades in the CWHL. She retired from hockey on December 28, 2011.
As an IOC Member, Angela presented gold medals to the U.S. Women's Soccer Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She also presented medals to the U.S. Women's Basketball Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. And she presented medals to the U.S. Women's Ice Hockey Team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Education
Angela Ruggiero has a strong educational background. She earned her Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the Harvard Business School. She also has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Harvard College. In addition, she received a Master of Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Minnesota. She earned this master's degree in Sports Management in 2010 while training for her last Olympics.
While at Harvard, she was a First-Team Academic All-American. She also won the NCAA's Top VIII Award in 2004. This award recognizes the top eight student-athletes in the entire NCAA. She was later inducted into the 2015 COSIDA NCAA Academic All-American Hall of Fame.
Personal Life and Public Appearances
After winning the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, Angela faced a challenge. She was not allowed to play in a local game at a rink in Michigan. She was told that only men could play there. A news team investigated, and the rink eventually changed its rules to allow women to participate.
Angela wrote a book called Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, the Ivy League & Beyond. It was published in 2005. This book is for young women. It shares her hockey journey, including challenges she faced as a female player in a sport often seen as male-dominated.
In 2006, Angela was a candidate on the sixth season of NBC's reality TV show The Apprentice. The show started in January 2007. During her time on the show, her Olympic and hockey experiences were often mentioned. She was eliminated on the tenth episode. After the show, Donald Trump offered her a job.
Post-Hockey Career
Angela Ruggiero is the CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab. This company uses technology to research sports. It helps sports brands find new trends and products for the future of sports. Before this, Angela worked at Bridgewater Associates, a large investment company.
Angela is also a popular speaker. She gives motivational speeches at schools, businesses, and organizations. These include the United Nations, the International Olympic Committee, and Nike. She has also written for major newspapers like The New York Times and USA Today. She hosts a podcast called “The Fluid Fan” for Sports Innovation Lab.
Volunteer Experience
Angela has dedicated a lot of time to helping others. She was a director for the New York Islanders' Project Hope. She also worked with the New York Islanders Children's Foundation.
Angela was part of a goodwill tour of Olympic athletes who visited Afghanistan. After college, she spent a summer in Uganda. There, she worked with the Right to Play program. This program helps set up sports activities for children. Angela has spoken several times at the UN. She represented the IOC and women in sports.
Sports Administration and Boards
Angela has held many important roles in sports organizations. She was a board member of the United States Olympic Committee. She also served on the Foundation Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency. She was the president and a board member of the Women's Sports Foundation. As an IOC Member, she served on the IOC's Executive Board. She also led the Athletes’ Commission. She helped bring the Olympics to Los Angeles in 2028 as the Chief Strategy Officer for the bid committee. She currently serves on the boards of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). She is also on the Executive Board of World Rugby.
Awards and Honors
| Medal record | ||
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| Women's ice hockey | ||
Representing the  United States |
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| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1998 Nagano | Team competition |
| Silver | 2002 Salt Lake City | Team competition |
| Silver | 2010 Vancouver | Team competition |
| Bronze | 2006 Turin | Team competition |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2005 Sweden | Team competition |
| Gold | 2008 China | Team competition |
| Gold | 2009 Finland | Team competition |
| Gold | 2011 Switzerland | Team competition |
| Silver | 1997 Canada | Team competition |
| Silver | 1999 Finland | Team competition |
| Silver | 2000 Canada | Team competition |
| Silver | 2001 United States | Team competition |
| Silver | 2004 Canada | Team competition |
| Silver | 2007 Canada | Team competition |
- 1998 Olympic gold medalist
- 2002 Olympic silver medalist
- 2006 Olympic bronze medalist
- 2010 Olympic silver medalist
- Hockey Hall of Fame inductee (2015)
- United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductee (2015)
- IIHF Hall of Fame inductee (2017)
- Four-time Olympian (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010)
- Ten-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team at the IIHF World Women's Championship
- Named the tournament's top defensemen twice at the Olympics (2002, 2006)
- Named the tournament's top defenseman four times at the World Championships (2001, 2004–05, 2008)
- Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year Award winner (2003, 2004)
- All-time leader in games played for Team USA (256 games)
- Patty Kazmaier Memorial Trophy winner (2004)
- Four-time NCAA All-American (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
- ECAC Player of the Year (2004)
- Ivy League Player of the Year (2004)
- NCAA Top VIII award (2004)
- Ranked one of Top 16 Female Athletes in the World by ESPN.com (2004)
- First female skater to play in a North American professional hockey game (2005)
- Inducted into the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame (2011)
- Playable character in the video game NHL 13
Images for kids
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Ruggiero in November 2018
