What sport does Riley play at the beginning?

Riley plays hockey at the beginning of *Inside Out*.

Hockey is established as one of Riley’s defining interests before the family relocates from Minnesota to San Francisco. The film opens with memories of her playing on the ice with her parents, and the sport becomes one of the central symbols of her childhood identity.

Riley’s first successful hockey goal creates a bright core memory and powers Hockey Island, one of her original five personality islands. Later, after the move, she attends hockey tryouts in San Francisco, but her emotional turmoil makes it difficult for her to participate normally.

The sport is sometimes confused with a general childhood game because Riley also appears in playful family memories. However, the film specifically identifies hockey as her organized sport and links it directly to one of the strongest structures in her mind: Hockey Island.