Germany's Lilli and Luisa Welcke Reflect on Fulfilling Dreams and Growing the Game

Nearly 600 km from their hometown of Heidelberg, Germany, Lilli and Luisa Welcke basked in the glory of another dream fulfilled: they were going to the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.

“It's just always been our childhood dream to go to the Olympics,” Luisa said. “So it's really crazy for us that it's actually coming true.”

The twins scored Germany's only goals in the final game of their Olympic qualification tournament, which saw them narrowly defeat Hungary 2-1. It was a high-pressure situation for Team Germany, who was hosting the tournament in Bremerhaven, but the sisters are proud of how their team handled it. 

“There was a lot of mental stuff going on going into a tournament where there's so much on the line,” Lilli said. “But I think we all did such a good job…keeping focused and calm and bringing the win home. Luisa and I are just super happy about the outcome and really looking forward to going to the Olympics.”

This was the second Olympic qualifying tournament for Lilli, who was part of the team that fell on home ice in the 2021 qualifying tournament. The 22-year-old credits the team’s hard work and increased resources for this year's success.

“The first experience was a lot different,” Lilli said. “We had a really different team and a different coach…I feel like our team has just been working ever since then…the staff, the players, to make our dreams come true this year….I could just see such a big improvement overall with Team Germany and all of our resources. So that has been a really cool experience.”

The Olympics are uncharted territory for this squad. Germany's last appearance was Sochi 2014, which featured none of the players from this year’s qualifying team. However, the roster boasts significant World Championship experience since the Germans have stayed in the top division since 2017, which the Welckes believe is enough preparation.

Give their recent success staying in the top division at Worlds, the team has shifted their goals from simply sticking around to climbing the ladder. 

“I think in the past, our goals within Germany have always been to kind of just stay up in that top division,” Luisa said. “But now, our goals aren't just to stay there, but we want to get to the quarterfinals. We want to get to the semifinals, because we know we can play with those teams.” 

This means despite currently being ranked ninth by the IIHF (last updated May 26, 2024), they see no reason to fear playing the always-favored North American squads. The games have gotten closer over the years, and they believe that trend will continue. 

Results aside, the Welckes are keeping the big picture in mind as they head into the Olympics. Data from the state of girls’ and women’s hockey in Germany in 2014 is unavailable, but per a table provided by the German Ice Hockey Association (DEB), there are currently 3,155 registered female players in the country. Of those 3,155, 2,120 are U18 players (birth years 2006-current), with the largest group being those aged 7-14 (1,505 skaters). The Welckes hope that Germany's appearance on the world's biggest sports stage will give the next generation better role models.

“I think…we're setting team Germany up for future generations of female hockey players to have some role models to look up to and like have higher aspirations,” Luisa said. “And hopefully that will create more awareness for female sports and hockey in general.”

The Welckes did not have the opportunity to grow up playing on girls’ teams. Even after they began to play in a women's league, they continued to supplement it with time on boys’ teams.

“We stayed on boys teams until we were 16,” Luisa said. “...Since there's only one women's league in Germany that doesn't have an age limit, we already played in that league our last year in Germany or two years while we still played on boys teams too.” 

The Welcke sisters headed to North America when they were 16. They played one season at Boston's Kent School and another at St. Catherines, ON's Ridley College before returning to Germany to play a season in the DFEL. They then returned to the U.S. to play for the NCAA’s University of Maine Black Bears in 2022-23. After one season in Maine, they transferred to their current team, Boston University, where they recently wrapped up their junior seasons. It's been a winding journey for the twins, but one they felt was necessary to play more competitive hockey. However, they hope that begins to change for the next generation.

“The hockey league in Germany is still pretty much the same, but you can see there's positive changes with more teams being added to the pro league in Germany,” Luisa said. “…I feel like there's still a huge gap between German hockey and American and Canadian hockey, but at the same time, you can still see that rise in hockey in Germany and the popularity of hockey is increasing a lot. So our hopes are that with the Olympic qualifications, we can just further expand that rise of awareness of female hockey in Germany, and hopefully see more positive changes.”

Still, the Welckes are part of a growing trend of German national team players leaving their country to seek better opportunities elsewhere. On the 2014 Olympic team, only seven of the 21 players had experience playing outside of Germany, and just five had played in North America. Meanwhile, 13 of the 25 players on the young roster for the Olympic qualifiers have played outside of Germany, while nine have spent time in North America.

“Our players on our team want to get better and want to boost German hockey, so that's why they're making the decision to go somewhere else and try to get better and come back to Team Germany and have a bigger impact,” Lilli said. “I think that's been working pretty well. Also I think that we have a good mix of players that play in Germany, players that play in Sweden and the Pro League, or the PWHL, and players that play college hockey. I think our team has this diversity, and every time we come together, we just have a great team atmosphere and environment. And I think everybody's just doing their part to get Germany to the bigger stage.”

While results and growing the game are on the Welckes’ minds, they’re also making sure to enjoy what a trip to the Olympics means personally. It’s another childhood dream accomplished with their twin by their side.

“Before even going to college, you always have a dream or a goal," Lilli said. “And obviously, our goal was to get an NCAA D1 commit. Then, once you accomplish that goal, you're forming new goals. And I think it's just been a process of having higher expectations and higher goals…the Olympics was just like that last step of everything coming together....I think that's really great for us, having that experience and reaching your lifelong goal.”

While the games will be fun, the Welckes will be sure to soak in the rest of the Olympic experience too.

"Obviously we're really looking forward to the Games," Luisa added. "But I think just like being at the Olympics in general, it's just such a huge experience that [you] can’t ever take from us."