Sports
January 20, 2012
Making history
Senior Hannah Hoenshell becomes member of universities first womans hockey team After considering a number of colleges, senior Hannah Hoenshell has committed to Penn State. “I wanted a big football school, good academics, and a good social school,” Hannah said. “They gave a good scholarship too.” Hannah will be making history in playing for Penn State’s first women’s hockey team. Hannah has met the coaches, but so far those are almost the only people she knows on the team. “I don’t really know anyone except for one girl,” Hannah said. “It’s going to be a challenge because it’s the first year for all of us to play college hockey, which is a lot harder, but hopefully we’ll do good. It’s a major change for all of us.” Hannah’s mother, Ann Hoenshell, said she will watch Hannah’s games online whenever she can’t be there to see them in person. “I am so proud of Hannah. She has wanted to attend Penn State for the past couple of years, so she has worked hard in school and worked even harder on the ice in order to achieve her goal,” Ann said. “She’s fortunate that she’s got some great skills and has been able to make a name for herself in women’s hockey. I’m proud of her.” Hannah is a right wing forward and has played hockey for three different clubs in Texas. She is currently on the Alliance Bulldogs and has led the team in points (number of goals) for six years. Hannah said her friends are excited about her commitment to Penn State. “They think it’s cool that I’m going to play college hockey, because it’s pretty hard to get recruited from Texas,” Hannah said. “It was a long road, so they’re all excited that it worked out.” However, the best at anything was once a beginner. The same is true for Hannah. She began playing boy’s hockey at the age of five before moving to girl’s hockey in the sixth grade. “It wasn’t always easy for the girls to compete in Dallas. Most boy’s teams didn’t want to play an all-girl team so we had to travel to the Northeast in order to get games with other all girl teams,” Ann said. “While it was a big financial commitment, it was an opportunity for Hannah to get noticed by college coaches and to get her name out there.” Very few hockey stars come from this Texas, as it is not necessarily known for its on-ice talent. Ann said the journey to college hockey has been an incredible one.
“There were many times during Hannah’s hockey years that we were told that the only way for Hannah to play college hockey was for her to leave Texas and go to a prep school up north,’’ Ann said. “This was never an option for our family. We wanted our daughter here, and Texas was where she wanted to be. So while many girls left town, Hannah stayed home and took her chances and it paid off. She is, as far as we know, the first girl to stay and play hockey in Texas and be awarded a scholarship to a Division One school.” Senior Cristy Davaloz has been friends with Hannah since the eighth grade. She was at Hannah’s house when Hannah got the call from Penn State. “I sat in the kitchen for about an hour. She kept coming in and telling me the details.” Davaloz said. Davaloz said she will try and keep in touch with Hannah when they both go on to college. She also said she thinks Penn State is a good fit for Hannah. “I think she’s going to do really well playing hockey there, and she’ll make lots of new friends on the team,” Davaloz said. Ann thinks Penn will be a good fit for Hannah as well, though initially Hannah had a lot of schools to choose from, such as Maine, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth and Brown. “I wanted her to be happy,” Ann said. “The first offer she had was from Maine, which was a full ride. The coach flew here to meet us and take us to dinner, and I really liked him a lot. I didn’t know anything about the Penn State coach at the time, so initially I was kind of rooting for Maine. But Hannah really wanted to go to Penn State, and once I talked to that coach I really liked him as well.” Though Penn State isn’t close to home, Hannah said she is looking forward to the transition to college life. “I’m excited to live somewhere else. I think moving is going to be fun,” Hannah said. “I’m looking forward to having the freedom to do what I want. And the hockey is going to be at a different level, so that’s exciting. And just to be in a different environment for the first time is exciting also.” Ann said she will visit Hannah as much as she can. “I have mixed feelings about Hannah leaving and going so far away,’’ Ann said. “On one hand I am so excited for her and
On the field By Cristina Seanez
Girls
Walking through the hallways, running on the fields and fighting for the win, is senior Kelly Chinloy’s everyday schedule. Chinloy started playing soccer at the age of 5 and got into select soccer when she was 12. What started as just a desire to play, turned into Chinloy’s life. She practices two to four hours a day and has multiple games a week. She said soccer is very time consuming, but she enjoys being with her teammates and practicing every day to become the best. “Soccer has me staying up late most nights finishing school work,” Chinloy said. “But it definitely makes my school day more exciting because it gives me something to look forward to each day, even practice but especially game days.” The select soccer program Chinloy is involved in gives training to qualified players and assists them in progressing to the highest levels. “Playing select soccer was really scary at first,” Chinloy said. “The players and the coaches were a whole lot better than anything I’d experienced before. But it turned out to be the best decision of my life and has taught me a lot about life and its adversities.” Chinloy said soccer has not only taught her to be a good player, but also about determination and dedication in life. “Once I started select and high school
soccer I learned the importance of being 100 percent committed to my team,” Chinloy said. “Soccer has also made me want to perform to the best of my abilities every day. It makes me want to become a better person, student and friend.” Chinloy’s family has been supportive of her desire to play all the time, and she said they are always there for her. Chinloy participated in the Orange Classic soccer tournament in Florida on Dec. 28 with her club team FC Dallas. “Having 16 member of my family at my tournament encouraged me, and I ended up scoring a goal the game they came,” Chinloy said. “It also brought my team even closer, and taught me to appreciate every opportunity that is presented to you, because it could mean more than you think.” Chinloy doesn’t plan on playing professional soccer but said she would like to play college soccer and keep playing her whole life in indoor adult leagues. She said she feels blessed for the coaches and teams she has had, and that the fact that she has been playing nonstop for over 10 years, always learning and improving, has resulted in making a lot of good friends and has made her a better person. “Winning is always fun,” Chinloy said. “It’s what everybody wants, but what really matters is how you played your game and the fun you had with the people you love.”
the opportunity that’s before her. The doors that will open and the life experiences that will shape her into the adult she will become. This is what we’ve always wanted for our kids, for them to be successful, and to go away and become independent adults. On the other hand, she’s my only daughter, and my first child to leave home. I’m excited for her, but it’s going to be terribly lonely without my shopping buddy here.” Hannah already knows a few students who will be attending Penn State. “One of my friends from hockey who lives in New York committed there. We’re going to be on the same team together,” Hannah said. “And one of my friends from my old hockey team goes there. She’s a sophomore.” Though Hannah is excited about going to college, Penn State has recently fallen under some scandal. However, Hannah says the recent negative media attention doesn’t change her opinion about Penn State at all. “I think that the scandal only reflects on a few people who made bad decisions and it doesn’t really affect me in any way,” Hannah said. “I’m still excited to go there. It’s just unfortunate that it happened right now.” Hannah is planning to major in Pre Med, and said she’s going to have to figure out how to manage her time between hockey and school. Her mother agrees. “I think division one hockey is a huge commitment, but I think that school is equally important to the hockey team,” Ann said. “I think that they’ll work with her school schedule, and the athletes have tutoring at their fingertips. I think the coach and the program itself will help balance all of that.” Hannah said she is excited to be in the first class of Penn State women’s hockey. “Not a lot of people can say that they’re starting off a division program,’’ Hannah said. “I want to be able to help build the program as best as I can. We have a lot to prove to the world of college hockey. It’s a new program, and it’ll be challenging at first, but we’ll have to work hard and prove to people that we can be competitive in our first couple years.”
It all started when he was 4 years old. The inspiration that emerged from simply watching someone play was the basis for junior Michael Gomon to become an outstanding soccer player. Gomon was pushed into the soccer field by the admiration for both a professional player and his brother. “Ryan Giggs was one of my big inspirations when I started playing soccer,” Gomon said. “He was left footed like me, and I really admire how he plays the game and makes it look so simple. Also, my brother used to play soccer and when I was younger I would go to all of his games and practice with him.” Gomon said he shows his passion for soccer by practicing several hours a week every day. He practices at school every morning for an hour to an hour and a half, and with his club team, AYSES (American Youth Soccer Educational System), in McKinney for up to two hours. “My practices are pretty demanding, but at the same time fun because I’m doing what I love so I don’t mind sacrificing for it,” Gomon said. Accidents have been a problem for Gomon in the past. After participating in football, track and soccer, Gomon kept getting injured frequently so his doctor made him choose only one sport because playing all these different sports wore down his body too much, which caused him to be injury plagued. Gomon picked soccer, which he said, has been a huge part of his life. “It’s something I love to do,” Gomon said. “It has taught me many great life lessons that I will take with me where ever I go and it has left me with unforgettable experiences.”
Boys
By Danielle Deraleau
Gomon got the opportunity to play with his club team, AYSES, in a tournament called Gothia Cup in Sweden on July 5, 2011. The tournament lasted five days and the team got to the playoffs with one tied game and two wins. “Going to Gothia Cup has been one of the best moments I’ve been through in my soccer career,” Gomon said. “There was great competition, and I remember when my teammate headed in to score our first goal in Gothia Cup and in Europe and I helped him place the ball in the right place to score. It was just an awesome feeling to have, knowing I helped set up a teammate to score, but most importantly to help our team win. Also during the trip I learned a lot about the game, had fun bonding with my team and got to see lots of different countries and cultures from around the world.” Gomon said that through soccer he has learned about perseverance, diligence at certain tasks, time management, sportsmanship, and that it has built his character to be a person who is well rounded, respectful, caring and friendly. He said he is grateful for the coaches and teammates he has had and will always be proud of having played for the school. “I’m really good friends with many of the guys on the team,” Gomon said. “I’ve been able to learn a lot about soccer and life from the older guys on the team. We’ve also become a family because of all the hard work and shared experiences that we have had. I will never forget my first game at Plano because it was something that I have always wanted to do since I was a child, and finally getting to put on the jersey with wildcats in the back was both awesome and surreal.”
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