Having played at the former A-Game facility in Franklin, the Russells got connected with Kahlie Singletary, a coach Mark and Nicole credit with helping Sydney first simply find somewhere to play – and then developing her into a collegiate athlete.

Sydney began to flourish as a member of the Nashville Jr. Predators girls program, and coaches Allie LaCombe, and then Delaney Collins, also played massive roles in Sydney’s development.

“They had a lot of influence,” Sydney said of her former coaches. “I think just being super big supporters and kind of having them as [notable] females in the hockey world [was very important]. Nashville wasn’t really big into girls hockey when I was starting, and I think having them to look up to and from their experiences of what they’ve gone through, I think, definitely motivated me and helped me grow as a player to where I am now.”

Sydney’s parents also believe her brother, Trevor, who skated four seasons with the Michigan Tech Huskies, served as a point of motivation when she was 17. When Trevor signed his scholarship papers, Mark says Sydney’s game went to an even greater level.

From there, Sydney had interest from Division III schools, but Division I was the goal. At a camp in St. Louis, Stonehill found their future captain. From there, the recruiting continued, and two days after Christmas in 2021, the Nashville Jr. Preds announced Russell as the first Women’s D-I commit from Nashville.

“I remember just being tickled to death, just so proud of her,” Nicole said of the moment. “She did it. That was her goal. She wanted to play D-I and she achieved it, so we were just so proud.”

“Really, really ecstatic,” Mark said of the commitment. “She spent that time focusing, made a commitment to a sport, had a goal, and even past that, our first weekend [at Stonehill], we got to meet several girls on the team. It was amazing to watch these girls from Canada, the western United States, up north, and she was the only southern girl on the team, how they just gravitated to her. I looked at Nicole, and I said, ‘I’m pretty sure she’s going to end up being a captain on this team.’ Here she sits in her junior and senior year – last year, she was co-captain, and now her senior year, she’s captain of a Division I hockey team.”

Sydney remembers thinking the commitment was “cool” at the time, but then just continuing on with her day. That mindset wouldn’t surprise her parents, as they say she’s certainly not the type to boast about her accomplishments but rather let her play on the ice do the talking.

She does just that, and through 14 outings this season with the Skyhawks, the captain is tied for second on the team with 10 points, and she leads her club with 23 blocked shots on the backend.

And wearing the ‘C’ is certainly a source of pride, too.

“To kind of have my teammates and peers kind of look at me that way, I think just going to the rink every day and working hard and trying to lead by example is kind of how I’ve always grown up,” Sydney said “I didn’t really switch anything when I was given the ‘C’ here.”