Personal Statement
Dear Coaches,
I have been set on college hockey ever since I started playing in goal. I can remember from the start I was always finding ways to get a little extra practice in, whether it was going to local open ice times, or practicing with the age group above mine. I always found some way to work on the small details of my game. Then one day I was talking to the local AAA coach and he was talking about how having better grades can open up lots of opportunities for me. So ever since then I have made it a point to work just as hard in the classroom as I do on the ice. All of the extra work paid off when I was able to play for a U18 AA team and for the local high school varsity team in 8th grade, being able to hold starting spots on both teams. It was a great learning experience for me and I was able to improve so much in just that one year, I had great coaches on both teams and got more exposure to higher level coaches than I ever had before and was probably one of my favorite years of hockey I had ever had. That year I got All-state honorable mention with the high school team, which felt huge for me as an 8th grader at the time. Ever since that year I have been working to improve to rank even higher in the state and to be able to play at the next level. The summer following that season I was able to attend a goaltending camp with the Waterloo Blackhawks, I received lots of amazing coaching from this camp and was able to take what they said back with me to keep improving myself and my game for the next upcoming season of my freshman year. My game matured a lot during my freshman season and ended the year with my team finishing 4th in state and getting all state honorable mention. The summer after this season I was invited to an NAHL showcase in detroit MI representing the Austin Bruins. This showcase was one of my favorite hockey experiences, as it was my first taste of the speed of the game at the next level. I then attended the Elite Edge showcase in Nashville TN, I was exposed to coaches from many different levels and learned so much about collegiate level hockey. I was then invited to main camps by the Odessa Jackalopes and the Austin Bruins both of the NAHL. I was only able to attend the Odessa main camp and it was a very good experience for me and it showed me what I should focus on to work on in the upcoming preseason and regular season.
