Mitchell's Story
I love hockey! Playing hockey is what I like to do. It's how I spend my time. There is nothing better then being on the ice with my friends and team mates. It does not matter if it's a pick up game, free skate or a league game. Just being on the ice, being able to play hockey is what's important to me. I dream of one day playing in college and then the NHL.
I know I started late and I know it's going to take a lot of work but I'm willing to work as hard as necessary to make this dream come true. Playing hockey is very important to me. It's where I go to be happy. Some people may think that's strange but they probably don't play hockey or love the game the way I do. If you love the game, you know what I mean.
There was a time I was very afraid that I would not be able to continue playing hockey at the level I wanted. I had just finished a house league and was ready to move up to an "A" travel league. Moving up from a house league to a travel league was necessary for me to improve. Travel hockey is a lot more expensive then house and after the divorce my dad did not have a lot of money. He was doing the best he could but there just was not enough to pay for travel hockey. I didn't know what was going to happen. It was a scary time for me.
Luckily there was a charity called One Childhood that came to the rescue. One Childhood gave me a scholarship that helped my dad pay for my first season of travel hockey. Without their help I would have had to play in a house league again and I don't think I would have gotten a lot better. Thanks to the help they gave me I improved enough to play on a high school team while in eight grade. My high school took 2nd place in our division for state.
I don't think I would have gotten good enough to move up to AA travel team this year which is what I plan to do. I know that One Childhood made a difference in my life. Their scholarship made it possible to keep my dream of one day playing in the NHL alive.