~Jackson Kilmartin, Class of 2023
Starting from behind
Hard work pays off, whatever you do
-Dustin Lynch
Hard work is so much more than one hour, one day or one week. If it wasn’t for hard work I would not be in the place I am today. I started hockey as a 6th grader, behind everyone else. Kids have been skating and playing for years longer than me. I had to put in hard work if I wanted to make a club team and take that next step. I put on my pads for the first time ever. As a 12 year old 6th grader, very small and new to hockey. I was nervous and my legs were shaking as I waited for the ice to be done when I stepped on to play hockey for the first time. Some of my friends like Sam Griwold or Harry Lavoie were there with me but these guys have been playing most of their lives. I was awful, falling almost every second and coming in last in the skating drills. As I got off the ice that day I wanted to quit, I was the worst out there and I didn’t feel good about myself. The next day I went back on the ice. Harry taught me a few things and I could already feel myself getting better. Every day for that 6th grade winter JV season I kept trying and slightly improving. By the end of that season I was loving the ice time with my friends and I was rarely falling, that season was when I fell in love with the sport.
The next year was coming off of COVID. I was in 7th grade where there were no school sports. I wouldn’t have the opportunity to play for fenn hockey. I found a league for beginners called the hotshots, the league was grades 4-9. It was all people my skill level and I loved that year that I played for “the green team” in the hotshots. I was getting better every practice and this time I actually got to play games against people with my skill. This was very building because I enjoyed every day of it.
Come my 8th grade year I decided to play hotshots again. This year I was the best on my team. I scored every game and sometimes even multiple goals. I also gained back the opportunity to play hockey at Fenn. I tried out for the varsity team, after three days of tryouts Mr. Miklusak told me I had unfortunately not made the team. That season on JV I had a goal in mind. “Make varsity hockey next year.” I worked every day at JV hockey to get better, with hotshots on the side I was getting a lot of skating in, improving every skate. I realized that next year I could not go back to hotshots because it would be unfair. I researched some clubs to try out for and I ended up trying out for two, The Minuteman Flames and The North Shore Shamrocks. When tryouts came around I was excited and ready to give 110%. I tried out for both teams and had a pretty good skate for both.
When I was on March break on the island of St. Maarten, my dad checked his email. We had two emails, one from the Shamrocks and one from the Flames. I wanted to open the Shamrocks first, we opened it and I ended up not making the team. I was not happy but I then was desperate for the Flames one. When I opened it, it was the coach letting me know that I made the team. I was ecstatic and super excited to start the season. I knew that I would not be making that team if it was not for all the hard work I put in through the years. I had made my goal happen and made the team, but I knew that my work was not done.
I still shoot pucks and practice my handles every day so that I keep improving. I also have a skating coach who helps me improve my skating. This is a lot of time to put in but I am willing to do hard work so I can keep improving in everything. Hard work applies to everything. If you work hard you can achieve anything.
