Jenison Hockey is nearing the season’s end. It can be helpful to reflect on what has happened so far this season to prepare for the rest of it. The games you lose as a team help you know what to do to win. Sometimes taking the time to talk about it is a great thing.
This season is as important as any, offering the Jenison community a chance to rally together and show their pride as the hockey team pushes through to the finish. To better understand how the team feels this late in the season, we have some thoughts from a few people. Senior captain Pierson Kloppe, senior goalie Brian Donley, and head coach Jack Williams have all offered to share their thoughts.
The Team
As a season goes on for any sports team out there, tensions may rise between players. This might lead to some conflicts. Fortunately, as goalie Brian Donley states, “It’s really easy to be on this team and having any conflict that happens, we can easily get it resolved.” This team can solve problems from within. This makes them better prepared for the postseason.
Development is a huge part of any team. When you’re able to bring out the talent in players and transform them into good players you’re able to win games. When asked about how the team has performed this year head coach Jack Williams responded, “We’ve done a lot of growth this year with our team and seven new guys. We lost one early on… But we had to adjust. I’m happy where we are and what we’ve been doing.” Coach Williams has a lot of confidence inn this team as they prepare for the regional tournament.
This team is full of leaders, consisting of 3 assistant captains and captain Pierson Kloppe. Being a team captain is no easy job for anyone and it seems stressful. As Kloppe stated, “being captain has made me learn to try to be the best teammate for everyone and push people to be better.” He hopes that his leadership will help bring his team to a good end of the season. “I’m feeling excited for the end of the season for regionals because I feel like we can beat any team.”
The Goal
The regional tournament is coming up. There is one collective goal. Raise that trophy. When asked if he felt accomplished at the end of his senior season, Brian Donley replied, “I’m gonna brutally honest, no I haven’t… there is a very good chance to accomplish something I’ve wanted from the start, like winning a regional title. That’s still up for grabs, biggest goal I’ve had since I’ve started playing hockey.” Winning the regional title would be something no one on this team has ever experienced. That fuels this team’s drive to win it even more.
It is real cool to go out and watch this team play against the tough competition. They have such incredible chemistry with one another. Winning the regional title would be a cool moment to see.
Supporting your school’s team is always a great idea. It helps the team feel even more pumped up for the big games when they see fans show up. This team would love to see you support them through the last push of the season.
Go Wildcats!
