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by Simon Valentin
If the Allen Eagles Ice Hockey Club is any indication, the high-speed game born in Canada may eventually become as Texan as football and longhorn steers.
Head coach and former professional hockey player Dave Fry, has taken raw talent and forged a championship high school hockey team that makes opponents nervous each time the puck drops.
For the second time in the last three years, the Allen Eagles Ice Hockey Club brought home the Texas State Cup Championship. They’re also the Rocky Mountain District Champions for 2009, which means not only are they best in the Lone Star State, they’re the best in the southwest.
But Allen High School hockey wasn’t always this strong. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and skating nearly as long as he’d been walking, head Coach Fry knew he had his work cut out for him when he arrived six years ago.
"Allen had one hockey team and their record was three wins, 24 losses," he recalls. "The first year I took over we had an undefeated season in the varsity division."
The high school now has three teams, Varsity, a Junior Varsity Gold team and a Junior Varsity Silver team.
"Each year we seem to be getting more kids into the program and it keeps on growing. There were 57 players last year," Coach Fry says.
The coach says as a result of more kids becoming involved, better players are developing. "The level of play is improving, these kids truly are athletes."
One of those athletes is goalie Spencer Harris, currently a sophomore already recognized for making crucial saves during championship games. He is grateful for Coach Fry’s training. "He makes us focus," Spencer says, "By focusing, our team’s strength has become the ability to work well together."
Working well with your team is a good thing when you have what some hockey fans argue is the hardest job in the game. "The goal tender is the last line of defense. You have to keep the puck out no matter what. It’s pretty stressful. Sometimes I wonder why I took the position when that puck is being shot at me," Spencer jokes. "If it’s a slapshot you’re looking at 80 miles an hour, a wrist shot is probably 60-70 miles an hour."
Teammate Chase Michaels, a senior, plays center for the Eagles. He’s made more than one opposing goalie’s blood pressure rise as he rips down the ice past the defense, looking to rack up another goal.
He gives kudos to Coach Fry for helping him sharpen his skills. "He’s an awesome coach who understands the game and is willing to go the extra mile with every kid," Chase says. "Even if a player is struggling, he’ll never give up on them, he’s always there for his players and he’s built a great team."
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t issues that are dealt with."Like any team you have differences with teammates, sometimes get under each other’s skin, but we still fit together well, we have a great bond," Chase says.
Part of the lesson the young players are learning is that hockey isn’t simply an excuse to get into a brawl. "When I first got into the league, it may have been like that," Coach Fry says. "A lot of football players were trying to play hockey. They thought they were just supposed to be skating around hitting people. We’re trying to help these guys develop their skills, be able to play and not just be the goon out there."
Spencer Harris’ father, Rick, says not only does that keep the kids out of trouble on the ice, it also helps off the ice as well. "When you look at the rigors of the hockey program that they’re in, there’s a lot of hours on the ice, the team pressure to keep up, keeps them out of trouble," he says.
Both Chase and Spencer are part of "travel teams", teams outside of Allen Eagles hockey that travel around the country, playing in high profile tournaments.
"Up north, kids get looked at (by team scouts) in high school," Michaels says. "Here, if you want to be looked at by recruiters you have to travel the country."
The schedule can be grueling as well as conflicting if you play for both the high school team and a travel team. (Some travel team coaches won’t allow the young athletes to participate in school games the week they’ll be playing in tournaments, wanting to keep the young men in top condition for team scouts to see on the road.)
Not only can that be tiring, it’s expensive. Because this is not a University Interscholastic League (UIL) sport like football, the bulk of funding comes from players’ families.
"It’s a club sport where parents are having to pay out of their pocket to play, to buy ice time," Coach Fry says. "It’s tough for some families, they have a hard time. Our costs are about $2500 to play for a season."
Rick Harris says the cost is a bit more than that. "You’re looking at a couple thousand dollars a year for ice time, plus cost for travel and equipment, probably about four thousand dollars a year."
But despite this, players like Chase and Spencer give it all they’ve got. "The sportsmanship has made me a better person. I want to work hard; I live to go to the rink everyday," Chase says. "You can’t just go out there and lollygag around, you have to give it 100 percent every time."
"The teamwork, interaction with teammates, the effort we put into it, will transfer over to the real world, no matter what we do," Spencer says.
That’s the kind of talk Coach Fry likes to hear. "It’s my job as a coach and hockey director to give these guys some life lessons, give them the tools, so that when they get out there in the real world they’ll be more prepared."
And as Allen High School’s Ice Hockey Club continues to grow, more of Coach Fry’s players will be heading out to "the real world" well prepared. Learning to deal with things like getting slammed into the boards by an aggressive player or blocking an 80-mile-per-hour slapshot will make office politics pale by comparison. v
Simon Valentin is a freelance writer. |
