My Journey through the world of Hockey
Everyone's path is different and mine was far from normal, however with having such a wide range of experiences across the country I believe this gave me the tools needed to coach and help all players regardless of learning style to benefit. There are things missing from this list like Tier 1 spring teams, my trip to play in tournaments in both Zurich Switzerland and Quebec Canada for example.
2005_ I got onto the Mini Mite local House team where kids were 1-3 years older than me.
2006_ I tried out for the B travel team in Northern VA where we went around to the local rinks and played other B and A teams in a 30 mile radius.
2007-2008_ My parents started to notice I really loved hockey and was a good skater so they had me try out for the local Upper A travel team. I made the team and we played upper A teams from around Northern VA and the southern Maryland Area.
2009_ My parents started to try to get me into private lessons to work on individual skills, like skating on outside edges and backwards strides but I wasn't having it. I was used to being the star of the team and I had a large ego. They got me to try out for the travel AA team but I decided not to play because I didn't want to leave my friends behind I made on the team. Looking back this was a huge mistake.
2010_ On the same team we were now mostly second year squirts and decided to play AA Travel Hockey for the first time. We got destroyed by nearly ever team that year. Also holding back for a year to stay with the friends I made kept me at a lower level and shielded me from exposure when a lot of higher level teams/players were forming around the area. For example the tier 1 spring team the DC Selects.
2011_ This year I just finished playing travel AA for my local club and my parents got an email from a Man trying to set up a Tier 1 fall season tournament team saying I was invited to a scouting scrimmage in Haymarket VA. I had never seen Tier 1 hockey before and the second I got involved I was hooked. The play was fast, with a purpose, and had competitive contact like I've never seen.
2012_ I played for the Richmond Generals u12 Tier 1 AAA travel tournament only team where we floated around the top 5 in USA Hockey's national Rankings. This brought a lot of attention to the players in the program from across the country.
2013_ I billeted in upstate New York and played for the Syracuse Nationals u14 Tier 1 AAA travel team. I got a lot of exposure and got quite the reality check when we started playing teams from Minnesota/New York/Chicago/Philly/Detroit/Colorado Regularly.
2014_I got home sick and decided to play for Team Maryland a Tier 1 AAA travel team where we Ranked around 15-30th in USA Hockey's National Rankings.
2015_ My first year of u16's I tried out for and made the Washington Little Caps Tier 1 AAA Travel team. We Ranked anywhere from 30-75th in USA Hockey's national Rankings.
2016-2017_ I left the little caps and tried out for and made Prince William Ice Center's Tier 1 AAA Travel Team for both my second year of u16 and my first year of u18.
2018_ From here in my last year of u18's I started making lasting mistakes. Prioritizing personal relationships outside of Hockey. I quit Club Hockey and Subbed on two JR Teams Rosters, Atlanta, and Colorado. I was off playing in a tournament with both of these teams nearly every weekend making me miss out on time with my friends and girlfriend back home. I then made a decision to quit my pursuit of hockey and go into the United States Air Force.
From start to finish my entire life was Hockey. Along the way I've had over 20 different private instructors teaching me skills that I hope to pass along to today's aspiring youth players. I made a lot of mistakes and I've learned from them. My goal is to guide today's youth hockey players into making better decisions and striving for excellence in all area's of their life through maintaining a proper balance.
A famous man once said: "Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future."
What he meant by that was the type of personalities you surround yourself with is who you will aspire to be in the long run. Role models are not just the celebrities on TV or in the NHL. Most of the time the people that have the greatest impact on the kind of player and person you become are right next to you, everyday.