F THE RINK
ily of hockey fans, ice Woo ’14 adopted the game continues immersing s both a fan and a skater.
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here’s not a lot of ice in Los Angeles, which might explain why most kids play sports on the grass, like soccer and baseball. Kirk Woo ’14 decided to spend most of his extracurricular time gliding on ice, body-checking competitors into boards and suffering the reciprocation of such contact. Woo has been immersed into the culture of hockey since his birth. His father Warren Woo, a part owner of the NHL Nashville Predators, relayed his passion for hockey to him and his brother Kyle. “I first realized hockey was my favorite sport when I was around the age of 3 or 4. My dad was really into it ever since he was a kid. So, he got me into it at a very young age as well,” Woo said. Woo’s father also took him to a lot of professional hockey games with his season tickets to the Los Angeles Kings. “Watching the sport is incredible. I learn a lot from the game by watching the pros play it and I think that helps me as a player, but also helps me appreciate the game even more,” Woo said. At a young age, Woo’s athletic interests were not limited to only hockey. He played many of the typical sports associated with Los Angeles kids, including basketball, football, baseball and soccer. Woo finally decided to concentrate on hockey, not only because of the heavy influence from his father and the different feel it has compared to the others, but also because he found flaws in placing himself within some of these generic sports. “Obviously, I’m not the biggest guy, so football couldn’t happen, basketball, not really. I was a good baseball player. But, there was something about hockey; it was unique, and not a lot of people played it,” Woo said. Woo began his experience with hockey at the Palisades Recreation Center, participating in roller hockey games, along with his brother. Woo claims that Ethan Rill, one of founders of the youth league in Palisades, influenced him greatly to try to play ice hockey. “The main difference is obviously the skating. Skating on roller blades is a lot different than ice skates. But, the transition itself wasn’t as hard as I originally thought it would be,” Woo said. Woo does not stand very tall or carry much mass, but this helps him focus on his strengths as a player and does prevent him
from getting physical in the rink. “The best aspect of my game is my skating and my quickness. I can get to full speed fast and quickly. I have a quick shot, a quick release, but really it’s the skating that sets me apart from the guys at my level,” Woo said. “I have always been a physical player, myself. I usually lead my team in hits every year. The physicality of the game is definitely something that attracts me to the game more than it deters me,” Woo said. The combination of the physicality of the game, Woo’s bodily frame and his aggressive play has led him to some serious injuries. As a hard-nosed hockey player, Woo tries to play through his injuries, as he once did with a broken ankle. Woo was once “speared in the kidney” on the ice and urinated blood for about a week. He played through it. Woo has had one injury in his career that kept him off the ice for a long period of time. “I have been out for six months before because I had a pulmonary lung contusion, which can be fatal. I got crunched against the boards by a very large player. I actually thought I was fine and I was going to keep playing, but it just knocked the breath out of me. When I was on the bench, I started coughing blood and I thought ‘that’s probably not good,’” Woo said. Currently, Woo plays for the Junior Valencia Flyers Hockey club and already has four goals and two assists in his first three games. Woo does not enjoy scoring a goal himself nearly as he much as he does facilitating an assist to his teammates. “I am not even lying when I say that,” Woo said. “This year, I have a larger role on the team. I’m a captain. Being a captain, I’m definitely going to be one of the leading point scorers, including goals, but definitely assists. I have always been a distributer and have always had good vision on the ice.” Woo is looking to continue to play hockey through college and is currently talking to Division-3 coaches and players. With the NHL being an unreasonable prospect for Woo and hockey being a sport for the young and active, Woo still sees hockey being involved in his long-term future. “I am always going to watch it, regardless of how old I am and I am always going to be Kings fan and a Predators fan. I always want to be involved with the game,” Woo said.
Photo printed with permission of Kirk Woo
BIG RED HOMECOMING 2013 • 25