Varsity hockey needs more players

OUCH! Gavin Anselmo takes a big hit against the glass during the teams game versus Nordonia.

Photo by: Focus Pix

OUCH! Gavin Anselmo takes a big hit against the glass during the team’s game versus Nordonia.

Ryan Oliveri, Guest Writer

The hockey team is in need of players for next year, as six of their 12 players are graduating this year. 

Assistant coach Jacob Macula says he’s going to try everything he can to help the team find more players. “We will have announcements and talk to other Mayfield students that are looking to join a winter sport,” he said.

Junior Gavin Anselmo of the team isn’t worried that the program team will have to shut down, but he’s being realistic.  He said, “If we don’t have enough players to be eligible to play, which is unlikely, [but] then the program will shut down.”

Macula and the other coaches admit they will be heartbroken if they don’t have enough players next year. “I grew up wanting to be a Wildcat, and if the program were to not have enough kids, the coaching staff would react by working as hard as they can to enlist some new players,” he said.

Macula wants the student body to know the team isn’t just looking for former, experienced hockey players.  He said, “[We] are looking to bring in some competitive, high character individuals to bolster the numbers for next year.” 

He has encouraged the team to tell their friends about this new opportunity, emphasizing that they don’t need to have perfect skills. “We will be planning on teaching them the basics,” said Macula.

There are a few players that have joined the hockey team during their freshman year, and according to coach Macula, they are doing great. He said, “We’re looking for competitors that will work to be the best player they can be, regardless of hockey experience.

Seniors Patrick Duffy and Nick Mauer are examples of kids that just started the sport in high school and have turned into competitive players playing a significant role on the team.

Macula believes that because they have had such a good season with their record that it will bring in more players in the future. He said, “After having the strong season we’re having, the coaching staff believes we will be strong for years to come.”

Although there is a cost to play and buy equipment, Macula doesn’t want that to discourage potential players from joining. He said, “The team offers great deals on pricing to ensure players get great value from being part of the team.”

The current players are looking forward to building a new team next year, and hope the team will not be cancelled. Sophomore Myles Haluszka said, “I will be pretty upset because I really love the sport and I love playing with my friends.”

Both Haluszka and Anselmo think that if they lose the “brotherhood” that they made during their time playing hockey,  the friendship between them will break too. According to them, they have built a brotherhood around hockey, meaning if hockey breaks, they may lose the significant bond of their friendship.”

To contact the coaches about playing on the team next year, Macula can be reached at [email protected] and Bogas is available at [email protected]