Kelley Madden '16 Recruiting Profile

As the youngest of 4 hockey players, there was never a time growing up that I wasn't in the hockey rink. Aspiring to one day be able to best my older brother who was the only goalie in the family, the sibling rivalry was fun and really encouraged me to work on my skills. As a kid I never realized just how much these beginning practices would one day help me with my goal of playing college hockey. 

The earliest photos I have of myself always feature my love for hockey some way or another. From wearing jerseys of my favorite teams to painted on black eyes with a ferocious expression, hockey has always been the biggest part of my life. I've known for the longest time that college hockey was where I wanted to end up and the fierce determination of my childhood dreams helped steer me down the path to where I am now. I've played AAA girls with the Ohio Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, and now attend Gilmour Academy where I play for their Girl's Prep hockey team. I've also played AAA boys hockey with the Cleveland Barons, but I knew that if I dreamed of making it into a college for hockey, girl's AAA was what would ultimately help me on my road to accomplishing that dream. 

Except, I know that my love for hockey and desire to play in college was only one part of the mission. A good education is what will ultimately get me into college, so knowing my priorities has always been major. I attended West Geauga High School and played for the Ohio Flames and then the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, but I began to realize the stress of missing school and having to work with teachers who did not believe in my dream of college hockey. My parents and I worked together to find a school that would allow me to have understanding peers and a hockey team that would help me get where I wanted to go. Together we found Gilmour Academy and I have just begun my junior year as a day-student. This was a big change, but my skill of adapting to new situations helped me make it through the scariness of the first year.

Even though I have switched schools, I did not give up my love of horseback riding or musical performance. I've also been the owner of a wonderful horse for almost 2 years now and have been amazed by the things I have unintentionally been taught. Horses are very in tune with human emotions and you must learn to control what you're feeling and keep a clear head, or your emotions can stress out, scare, or give your horse power over you. In a chippy or rough hockey game the most important thing is to focus on keeping a clear mind and not falling into the less important games that are being played by the players around you. You must focus on helping your team and you cannot do that in the penalty box or in the stands for the next couple of games.

I'm also a member of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, an audition-only band that kids from all over Northeast Ohio may participate in. Working with people I've never met before who all play at a different lesson was a difficult adjustment, especially when I found myself at a lower playing level than the student sitting next to me, but it only encouraged me to practice more to be able to blend with my section. Unless you're playing a solo, you should never stand out over the entire band. Even when you have the melody, it is your section that must play together and balance their part with another. As a hockey player, teamwork is one of the most important things. A team who has players who believe themselves to be above another has complications on the ice and in the locker room. Working together to create a good chemistry off the ice will significantly improve your team's on-ice play which means you must know when to stand out and be the leader and when to blend amongst your teammates. 

Here is Gilmour Academy Girl's hockey schedule for the 2014/2015 season: http://www.gilmour.org/page.cfm?p=1049&teamID=20&display=Schedule