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The boys varsity hockey team has been strong through the first half of the season with an 11-4-1 record and quality wins against teams such as Allen Park and Grosse Pointe North.
The seniors and captains on the team have led the squad through the majority of the season, but there are definitely some standout underclassmen who have vastly contributed to the boys’ success according to experienced players on the team.
Adam Pitters ’17 has played hockey for 12 years and recently played for the St. Clair Shores Saints before coming to South’s team. He now plays forward for South and starts.
“I have had to overcome a lot of things in my hockey career, but the toughest one has to be my speed,” Pitters said. “My older brother taught me anything and everything I know I about hockey.”
Before each game, Pitters has his ritual of taping both his sticks and throwing a football around with some of the upperclassmen. In the off-season he gets on the ice as much as possible and works out with a professional trainer often.
“My goals for the next two seasons is definitely to win states,” he said. “As of now, I am working hard on improving basically every aspect of my game.”
Another underclassman on the team, Jack Flynn ’17, is playing his 14th year of hockey and previously played for the Grosse Pointe Bulldogs ’98 team.
“My brother Wyatt (’14) has helped me get to this spot of being on varsity as a sophomore,” Flynn said. “The hardest thing I have had to conquer over the years was my size on the ice and now this year dealing with the upperclassmen during practice.”
Flynn switches between center and wing and plays every three shifts throughout the span of the game.
For years now Flynn has had some unique pre-game rituals such as petting a teammate’s cat and bringing the same color Gatorade to drink. These help him stay comfortable, especially when dealing with the faster pace of varsity.
“The varsity play is a lot faster as most of the kids are bigger than me, but I think I have adjusted nicely,” Flynn said.
For 12 years Michael French ’17 has played hockey and most recently played for the Grosse Pointe Bulldogs ’98 and the Michigan Ice Hawks ’98.
“I have known Jack Flynn and Adam Pitters for a while before this team, and we have always been good friends, so I am glad I will be playing alongside them for the next three years,” French said. “My dad has been the guy that has coached me and always stuck with me all through my athletic career.”
French now plays forward for South.
Like Flynn and Pitters, French also does his own similar routine before every game. The team has pasta parties and French listens to the same playlist while getting dressed, stretching and jogging.
“The toughest thing that I have had to overcome on the ice is probably being cut from the Bulldogs and having to resort to the Ice Hawks,” French said. “It is truly awesome that I have been given the opportunity to become close with all of the upperclassmen and compete at this high of a level.”
All three sophomores look to further improve their chemistry with the team as a whole in order to play more fluently.
“My relationship with coach is improving quickly,” French said. “At the beginning of the year, I was intimidated by him and nervous but now feel more comfortable and welcome around him. “I am going to work extra hard this offseason in order to improve my game and try to be a leader on the team and do what coach asks of me.”
The team faces off against North tonight at 8 p.m. in the Trenton showcase.
