Mark Segalla '20 Recruiting Profile

Hi I’m Mark Segalla. All my life I was told I was no good or I wasn’t going anywhere. That never stopped me – in fact, it just motivated me to set goals and to prove those people wrong!

All my life I’ve dreamed of playing college hockey. I’ve had a hard hockey career -- stuck behind a coach’s son, passed over at tryouts (even though I had 3 straight nights of shutouts!) -- but one day I asked myself, why hang around people who aren't helping you achieve where you want to be? My goalie coach, Dan Meyers (UMASS Amherst, former Quinnipiac goalie coach) always said to be positive and to ignore negativity. 

In this short statement, I'm going to talk about my strengths, especially my mental toughness and positive attitude. When I was young, I was bullied by a teammate and that was probably the worst thing that has ever happened to me. My grades plummeted and I was moved from starting goalie to backup. That was the hardest time in my life so far. What I did to overcome this was to talk to my parents, my goalie coach, my team coach, and even mates who were on the team. I started t set goals for myself – to have the most shutouts of anyone in my league, to have the lowest GAA in my league. I also stated doing more than usual. Instead of training for 1 hour, I would train for 2. Instead of avoiding subjects I found hard, or only doing the minimum, I asked for a tutor in math and in Latin. In the summer, I found a Track coach to work out with three times a week. I started attending Stop It Goaltending with Coach Brian Daccord. In 8^th grade, not only did I play for the North Jersey Avalanche u15 tier 1 team, I also played for an U-18 light travel team coached by Bruce Baker (Columbia University’s hockey coach). 

My competitiveness, mental toughness, and determination have helped me off the ice as well. When I was little I was diagnosed with ADHD. That made school pretty hard at times. I never let it bother me or stop me, though. I always work really hard and try my best – even with the subjects I like least!!  My goal has always been to go to a good school and to play good college hockey. It has been my dream since second grade! On this path, I was accepted at multiple boarding schools, including the Hun School, Hoosac, Cushing Academy, Trinity-Pawling, Avon Old Farms (wait listed), and Salisbury. It was very hard decision for me. My dad is a graduate of Salisbury and he told me this is a place where negativity is not tolerated. That is exactly what I wanted and is why I chose Salisbury! When it comes to college, that is also what I expect – a positive, no harassing/no bulling community, challenging academics, and great hockey. Thank you for your time.