The Voice of the Loy Norrix Community

Knight Life

The Voice of the Loy Norrix Community

Knight Life

The Voice of the Loy Norrix Community

Knight Life

Subscribe to the Newsletter
Ace Hardware
(Photo Illustration) A student drives her car while talking to someone on the phone. This violates Kelsey’s Law which prohibits drivers from using their cell phone while driving.
Scholarship rewards $5,000 to high school students for bringing awareness to distracted teen driving
Sophia Wrzesinski and Flora HarperMarch 21, 2024

The Kelsey’s Law scholarship is open for submissions until Mar. 31. Hosted by the Michigan Auto Law, the scholarship awards a total of $5,000...

What are Your Spring Break Plans?
What are Your Spring Break Plans?
Isaac Atkinson and Stan ThomasMarch 21, 2024

Red Cross Supervisor Cindy Vandermeer prepares Teya Dawson for her blood donation. Dawson was a first-time donor.
NHS hosts a successful blood drive, saving lives in and out of the community
Isabella Figueroa, Chief Copy Editor • March 21, 2024

“My dad and my mom both needed blood products when they were still living, so it's just really important to me so that the blood stays local,”...

Ice Hockey Can Be Tough, But Rewarding

 

Garcez - Hockey Picture
Wyatt Atkins, 84, squaring off against the team Fox Motors at Grand Rapids. Despite his best efforts, the team lost 0-6.

By John Michael Garcez, guest writer.
The chill of the ice. The smell of sweat. The sound of clashing sticks and pucks. The taste of hot dogs and nachos. The sight of a victorious team on ice skates. All of this is part of your average ice hockey game.Wyatt Atkins, a freshman here at Loy Norrix, is a hockey player for a team Mejier AAA, which is based in Lansing, MI. His team is one of the 8 AAA teams in Michigan.
Atkins, intriguingly, started playing ice hockey at the young age of 4, even though according to the staff of the website “youthathletic”, the recommended age to start playing ice hockey is 5. He started early because his family is heavily involved in hockey, such as his cousins being in the high school state championships. Of course, it’s not just because of his family.
“You leave it all on the ice,” Atkins said. “You work hard on and off the ice. It’s a choice to work hard.”
No sport is without its hardships. Starting off was tough for Atkins.
“I had a little bit of chub. I had to work a bit harder than the other kids to get to where they were.” Atkins said. “That being said, athletes don’t care about the tough times.” Atkins said.
“We don’t remember the low points,” Atkins explained, “because in order to be a great athlete, you must move on from the low points and make up for them.”
Though, there are rarely any fights on the ice. According to Atkins, you get suspended for 3 games.
“You’re not allowed to fight on the ice until you’re 18.” That being said, the temptation is still there, as Atkins explains.
“I was standing there in front of the net. I was looking at this one guy, and he lifted my leg, and I turned around, ready to kill the kid, but then I stopped when I saw the ref,” Atkins said.
This is quite different from the NHL, where, according to the statistics from the 2014-2015 season on the website “Hockey Fights”, about 26 percent of games had fights, with 276 players being involved in fights.
There are high moments though, such as the time that Atkins scored two goals that won the game.
“We were playing at [Notre Dame]’s rink, and I told myself before the game, ‘We’re not going to lose this,’ because we lost to them earlier in the tournament.” The team won 2-0. How did they win?
Atkins continued, “The first one was when I got a wrist shot from the hash marks. The second goal, it was the last minute of the game, one of my team-mates shot, the puck came to me, and then I took a shot and scored.”

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Knight Life Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
The Voice of the Loy Norrix Community
Ice Hockey Can Be Tough, But Rewarding