2016 | Virginia | BOYS

Osbourn Park | Jackets | BOYS

Chris has been a leader on several teams throughout his 10 year hockey career.  His request to address his U12 select team prior to the first game in a tournament, followed up with leading by example on the ice with 4 points earned him the coaches selection as captain.  He told the boys he was waiting to see if anyone would step up to take that leadership role, rather than electing a player or asking the team to vote.  He has carried that same leadership to several other teams, acting as captain on 3 other travel teams.  He is committed to the success of the team and will take on any role he is asked if he believes it is for the good of the team.  He loves team sports because he enjoys contributing and sacrificing for the good of the whole rather than for individual glory.  Any time he scores, his celebration is with his teammates, never an individual display.

Chris worked very hard as a young hockey player and developed a knack for driving to the net early.  In his early success he came to understand that with frequency, the excitement of scoring diminished somewhat.  He understood that players on his team who did not have the same scoring success would have far greater memories when they scored than he would.  He worked hard on several teams to put his teammates into the position to have that success, and to get to enjoy the glory that comes with scoring an important goal.  The two things parents (including those of opponents) and coaches, mention the most when talking about Chris are how well he skates and how much character he displays in the way he plays the game.  

Chris has been on enough teams that have struggled over the years to have the empathy for opponents when his team is controlling a game.  He has on multiple occasions intentionally pulled out of easy scoring situations, even in games that had only a 2 goal differential, coming back to the bench after not tapping in an easy rebound simply stating