The feature celebrates the athleticism of athletes, starkly captured in a series of photographs taken of the 25 year old USA hockey star.
Like the majority of elite hockey players in the game today, Selenski is a supreme athlete, which is evident from these revealing images. The Body Issue 2015 is certainly bound to cause a stir.
The message is loud and clear - muscled legs, toned arms and sculptured abdominals are equally attractive whether you are male or female. The athletes featured in the magazine are all proud of their bodies, from the heavily muscled hammer throwers to the ripped and lean heptathletes.
Paige talks frankly about the amount of effort she puts into her training. “I was lucky I was naturally gifted with an athletic body, but I also put a lot of work into it. I don’t just stay at home and do abs all day long; it just comes with running and all the things I do to stay in shape. I use my body every day for my job.”
For a hockey player, training takes many forms. There is the stick and ball work; the tactical play; the strength and conditioning in the gym; the yoga to increase the flexibility in those tight hamstrings and the running.
An international hockey player will typically run five to six miles during a game and, as Paige points out: “It’s not just the endurance you need to play the sport but also quickness. As a forward I do a lot of agility stuff – short sprinting. We constantly put our bodies through pain.”
One area that is overlooked when people consider hockey training is speed of the hands. She said: “Your hands need to be a lot quicker as you move up through the levels. Sometimes I’ll use a tennis ball to practise my stick-handling skills. It’s a lot lighter, so it teaches you how to turn the stick quickly. If you watch television while you’re dribbling the tennis ball, that helps with keeping your head up. That will make you a better player.”
If Paige ever feels like skipping training, or relenting a little on the tough schedule she puts herself under, then she has a very strong motivation to keep her going. “My Mum passed away from ovarian cancer when I was in high school, and she’s the one who got me into hockey in the first place. That drives me every day and to make her proud of me.”
On the eve of the Pan-American Games, a tournament USA must win to secure Olympic qualification, be sure that Paige and her teammates will be putting their bodies through another hard, tough and toll-taking fortnight of competition.
See the magazine here: http://espn.go.com/espn/bodyissue
