I am a grad student at the University of Michigan . I play in the ice hockey team here . So , in my life , I've had a lot of great mentors , obviously , uh , my first being my dad , he played professional hockey .
You know , my brother came here a couple of years before me . He didn't play hockey , but I was able to see the campus in a different light . So ever since I , I came and saw him and visited him , you know , the the , the university kind of spoke to me and , um , you know , I kind of fell in love with it right away , just the atmosphere and everything and then got the opportunity to talk to , um , our coaches , obviously there was new staff hired after that .
So being able to look up to him at an early age was really motivational , uh , getting to see him do what he loves kind of trickle down to me and my brothers , I got an older brother as well . So being able to learn from him and , you know , grow my love for the game of hockey , um , was really special . So it's been ingrained in me , um , ever since , you know , growing up watching my dad and my older brother .
I think when it comes to , um , the tangibles that coaches are looking for , when you want to get recruited to a school like Michigan , it's not necessarily , you know , the big highlights that come out with , with a play , it's a little intangibles , like being able to be a good teammate . So for hockey , if you're on the bench and you're being negative or you're complaining about a call against your team or you're not giving support to your teammates , like coaches and scouts can see that , uh , when they're watching the game and typically that , that's what they look for when they're trying to hone in on if they have two or three players in mind , they will look at those little details of a player and a lot of times if one player is doing , you know , those type of things , not on the ice but off the ice , they will sense that . Um , so just making sure that , you know , it's not just all about the big plays , it's about the little things off the ice as well and how you interact with your coaches , your teammates , you know , word travels fast and in sports .
So , um , that's something that we all , you know , talk about on a daily basis and , uh , we all share that connection . Yeah , I think when it comes to training , I think just trying to develop habits at an early age , having someone , um , that played hockey , uh , like my dad , uh , being able to , to get advice from him and , um , you know , how to get proper sleep , how to prep before , you know , a game or just like little things , um , off the ice , like being able to eat , eat the right way and being able to cook for yourself all little things that kind of lead up to , you know , putting yourself in the position to , to succeed . Um , was really great advice and , you know , I , I still , you know , adhere that to today .
