Sophia Blanchard '18 Recruiting Profile

I would consider myself a late bloomer to the game of ice hockey. I didn’t start playing until I was around 10 years old. That’s pretty late compared to the other girls I have played with over the years. However, hockey was not absent in my life. I grew up with it all around me and was an all around “rink rat”. I would run around the ice arena with my friends, stop to cheer on my brother when he stepped foot on the ice, and collect the pucks after their high school game warm-ups. It was such a thrilling feeling for me to be able to walk on the ice. I felt like a VIP, being the only one on the ice collecting those pucks. At the end of most home games I would climb into the penalty box on the other side of the arena where my dad was waiting. Together we would cross the ice, sliding around, and he would let me check him into the boards. The referees, waiting close by for a clean sheet of ice, would joke with us and give me a penalty for interference on my dad. This little ritual would happen every game of my brothers high school career. That was, until he graduated from high school.

Ian, my brother went on to play D3 club an hour away from where we lived. Even though we still went to his games I did not get to go out onto the ice. I realized that I wanted to be one of the players out there. So my parents signed me up for recreation league at the rink I had grown up in. I did rec league for 2 years and fell in love with the sport. My parents, never thought I was going to step it up to the next level until we learned about the only girls team in the state of Iowa...a U-19 team. So there I was, a little 12 year old, as a family we committed to traveling the hour+ ride to and from the rink to practice with girls ranging from 12 to 19 years of age and to play in tournaments once a month across the upper midwest.

The difference between the best and the worst players was extremely noticeable but from my first practice during my 2 years with the team, the older girls took me under their wing and helped me improve my skating dramatically. Fast forward to my freshmen year of high school. I have just moved back home to Maine from Iowa. I had been skating a lot and ended up making varsity for my high school team along with 3 other girls. I soon realized that I might have made varsity but I did not have the experience to get a lot of playing time in games. I spent most of my freshmen year riding the bench and swinging down to J.V.. At the end of the season, after coach evaluations, I decided that I did not want to have another season like that again and would do anything to get to the top of the ladder.

In the off season, before my sophomore year, I worked my tail off to get into shape and develop my stick handling skills and skating technique. I took private lessons, I played for a split season team, and I spent almost everyday after school in the gym. By the time hockey season rolled around I was prepared. My coaches were blown away by the improvement I had made and how every time I stepped on the ice I put 100% into everything I did. When coach evaluations sophomore year rolled around all they had to say to me was next year I would have to be a leader on the ice. “Set an example for the other girls”.

My new found role as a leader on my team helped me recognize how rewarding leadership and volunteerism is. I think of myself as visionary because I always have ideas but the difference between me and the average person is that I set out to accomplish those ideas. I don’t give up or take no for an answer. Even when I encounter bumps in the road.

I lost a friend at the end of my freshmen year to a rare disease. With her love out lighthouses in mind, I approached a teacher at my school a few months later about starting something to honor her life. It took a year to plan but I can proudly say we formed the York Youth Lighthouse Preservation Association (YYLPA). YYLPA is comprised of volunteer students who serve as Ambassadors for York, Maine most prominent tourist attraction. In addition to the time I spent working on the lighthouse project, one of my favorite places to be was at the ice rink nearest to my house. That led to me starting to coach Learn to Play Hockey on a volunteer basis. Leadership opportunities continued to come my way as I was invited into RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) and HOBY(Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership). I ended up representing the state of Maine at the world conference for HOBY in Chicago. I came back home with a broader view on the impact I could have on people and the impact that volunteerism could have on my community.

I started volunteering more when I returned from Chicago. I enrolled in the student listener program at the local elementary school. In the fall of this school year I started coaching more hockey teams. I was working with the learn to skate kids, the learn to play hockey, and I even helped with a mini-mites team. Soon enough my own hockey season rolled around though. It felt so good to be on the ice full time.

My role on the team this year was different. Last year I came out and caught everyone off guard but this year my coach had higher expectations of me. I established a really good relationship with my high school coach at the end of my freshmen year. I was told what I had to do to get better as I went above and beyond. So at this point in my high school career my coach and I have established some trust in our relationship. Coach Banfield trusted me to be out on the ice in every major situation...to win a key face off, play defense when we were short players on a penalty kill, and communicate with the girls on my team. He saw me get my head up and make smart plays but was not afraid to tell me when I made a stupid one. I wanted to hear his constructive criticism too. Him giving me direct feedback helped me. My junior year I wasn’t there to wow everyone, I was there to be a team player. I am not selfish with the puck, I got my head up, and even when I was so tired I thought I was going to throw up I went back out on the ice when asked. I received the ultimate recognition this year at our year end team banquet as my teammates elected me as captain for the 2017-18 season, my senior year.

My teammates and coaches are not the only ones that have noticed my hard work though. The York High School principal invited me to be a student advisor on the Principal’s Advisory Committee in the fall 2016. The board is comprised of school faculty, parents and a few students. I have been encouraged to speak my mind about school related issues with the board. I was a co-creator of a program entitled: Positivity Project. Lastly I was invited to return to HOBY this summer as a counselor to teach other students about leadership.