The hockey season is approaching and their first game is on Nov. 17. The hockey team is focusing on improving teamwork on the ice and maintaining positive and consistent energy.
Their offseason training began on Sep. 16 and the SHS team is now practicing twice a week. During the off season, practice is led by the captains: Brady Dean, Nate Kehrier and Jack Cruickshank. The official coach, Pat Walsh, coaches once the official season begins.
“The captains run practice, we run warmups, set up shooting drills and we do speed drills to prepare for the season,” Cruickshank said.
Junior Captain Jack Cruickshank said that although they have just begun training now, he values practicing on his own and focusing on the season year-round.
“I practice a lot during the week, and I am playing for a club team during the off season,” Cruickshank said.
Although teammates practice on their own time, Walsh said that hockey is a very difficult sport and that the plan for the game doesn’t always end up succeeding.
“Things will change, and one system could be working great, but then the next second it starts to deteriorate because the other team will figure out what you are doing, so you have to switch gears,” Walsh said.
Since players have to change systems so often, Walsh said hockey involves techniques that are very unique, the type of training is important.
“[I] hammer conditioning because they need it, ” Walsh said. “For the first few weeks, that’s all we do. For the next few weeks, I [will] also push conditioning for the first half of practices.”
With two years of experience, Junior Captain Kehrier knows the importance of staying focused during hockey games.
“We need to stay locked in, we don’t have a lot of guys, so we have to keep working 110% of the time,” Kehrier said.
The hockey team has recently lost its goalie and is currently looking for a solution to this situation.
“It’s a precarious situation,” Walsh said. “When the news was broken to me, I was kinda floored about it, but I tried to make sure my emotions didn’t get the better of me.”
However, Coach Walsh said there may be a solution to this challenging situation.
“There is a student who has piqued a lot of interest in playing for us this year, and being the athlete he is and who I’m bringing along to help,” Walsh said. “He’s gonna be very well set.”
Last year the team finished their season with an 8-10-1 record. The team looks to improve their record and achieve awards.
“I won first team in the blue division last season, which is the division we play in,” Cruickshank said. “Our senior captain, Brady Dean, won Third Team All Conference.”
The team will play its first game on Nov. 17, against Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. This will also be their home opener. You can get tickets on the Solon Comets Athletic Ticket Portal.
