Living my dream as a collegiate student-athlete

Last summer I was working two jobs, playing hockey, and working out. I was on that non stop grind. Then August rolled around and I had to say goodbye to all the important people in my life who got me to where I am today. Saying goodbye to my favorite coaches, teammates and rink was a challenging thing for me. This is where I felt at home and safe. But, I knew that I was going to have those same experiences in my next chapter in my life.

I am a first year student at SUNY Geneseo and have completed my first semester. All I can say is that I grew so much in these past months. It was a huge transition for me. My school is approximately 7 hours away from my home town. I didn’t know anyone besides my roommate, heck, I don’t even know what I’d be studying. All I knew was that I came to this school to continue to do what I love, and that is play hockey. The weird thing is that my colleges club team didn’t start until mid October. I couldn’t even go skating because the rink was under construction. To get my mind off school, I made sure I had other things going on in my life. I decided to go to the gym in between classes, join the school newspaper and I got a job.

At the gym I really focused on strength training. So normally I could fit 3 days of going to the gym in my schedule. Two days I would focus on working on my upper body and legs. The extra day I would work on cardio so I can get that McDavid like speed in preparation for my season. I really enjoy going to the gym and clearing my mind. It’s just me and the music in my headphones pushing through reps.

Writing for the newspaper has really helped my broaden my horizons and ideas of what I want to study in college. I want to study communications and broadcasting. I want to work for sports teams (mostly hockey) and interview the players. I am writing for the sports section of the newspaper and I was given the opportunity to write for our soccer team. I go to their games, take notes, interview a player and then write up a piece and send it in. I find great enjoyment just getting to know the players and their backgrounds. It’s so fun!

My job is also quite exciting. When I’m not writing for the paper or at the gym, I’m normally at a sports game working on the sidelines, videotaping the games or ushering. I was also given the opportunity to be DJ and play music for the hockey team at all their home games! It’s crazy how many things can change in a few months.

I’ve never been more happy as when my season began. We practice twice a week and have games on weekends. The first time stepping on that ice for my college team was a great experience. I worked hard to get to this point. I didn’t care if I was playing D3 or club, I just wanted to have fun. Unfortunately my school doesn’t have an NCAA D3 woman’s ice hockey team, so club it is. I am so glad I chose this route. With all the pressure going on with classes I don’t know how I would have been feeling if I was on a NCAA D3 team. I am happy and content with where I am and how things work out.