Katie Weiler ’13
Sports Editor
The student section is full of kids they don’t know. The drive to practice and back is over 40 miles, six days a week. The jersey is green and white with West Catholic’s logo on the front. The newspaper is reporting the scores and highlights of their games under West Catholic’s name. The six seniors from Cedar Springs High School endure these things for one reason: to play hockey.
Not going to school with the same people you pass the puck to can be tough, but Zack Taylor ’13, Colton Mora ’13, Dontae Ensley ’13, Jonathan Gilbert ’13, Zach Magoon ’13, and Brandyn Barnard ’13 make the best of it.
“It’s a little bit harder [to] bond, but when you’re playing on a team you blend and that’s how you win games,” comments Gilbert.
The boys admit that sometimes there is tension between the schools, but most of the time everyone gets along. There is the advantage of meeting new people and playing against other high school teams to help them become better players. Obviously, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
“It’s not as easy to get playing time because they favor the West Catholic kids more because it’s their school, not ours,” explains Ensley.
Differences aside, they do everything they can to support their teammates in the good and bad times. The support most often comes in the form of encouragement or helping out players that don’t understand the drills.
“I try to pump them up. I say positive things and keep them in a positive mood so we can go out there and play our hardest,” voices Barnard.
The hockey season may end in March, but the boys work hard year-round to prepare for their coveted minutes on the ice. Lifting at the gym, going for a run, eating healthy, and learning new tricks are a few of their off-season preparation efforts.
“I go to drop-in, stick and puck, and open skate at the Sports Plex,” says Magoon.
College looms in the horizon for the players, and hockey is sure to be in their future plans. Taking their talent and hard work to the next level will mean a large time commitment in addition to the academic workload. The recruiting offers have been made, now the decisions are left for them to make. Magoon and Barnard are weighing their options before making a choice on whether or not they will continue playing the sport at the collegiate level.
“I’m being looked at by Aquinas right now, but it depends on how everything else goes,” explains Taylor.
Ensley has decided he will play hockey in college and has narrowed his options to two schools.
“I’m between Central Michigan and Michigan State,” comments Ensley.
Gilbert is also searching for where he would like to continue his career.
“I’m looking at a few schools, like Davenport or a travel team,” says Gilbert.
They have 11 games left in their high school careers and would greatly appreciate their classmates and community members coming out to support them. A link to the schedule of remaining games is listed below.
Photos by Anna Hause ’14
Hawk Nation 