THIS WEEK AT THE PEAKS

Mon, Nov 29 thru Sun, Dec 5

Provo Predators 2021-22

Peaks Youth Hockey Organization

COACH'S SPOTLIGHT:

JACOB HICKMAN

COACH FOR 12U D1 AND 14U TRAVEL A

I grew up playing street hockey and roller hockey with friends in both New York and Utah. Most days after school, we would round up the Harkers, the Jaramillos, the Kitchens, and others and skate our PVC goals over to a church parking lot to play until dark. My first season of ice hockey as a kid was as a first-year Bantam (14U) when the only rink in Utah Valley was an outdoor rink out by Utah Lake State Park. I have fond memories of playing 6am games, with a layer of fog on the ice, or dressing by the fireplace in the rink lobby, since they didn’t have dressing rooms.

The first year I coached hockey was when I was in college, and my little brother’s Mountain View team needed someone to coach them. It was a definitely a new way of engaging with the game. After college I took a 10-year break from hockey while I finished college and went off to grad school, but as with many of us, we all come back eventually. I have loved coaching my kids as they have picked up the sport, and it gets even more fun as they get older, and the pace and level of competition increases with each age group. From teaching individual skills to helping a team learn to work together as a unit, I have found a lot of fulfillment in seeing kids grow and progress over a season. I like to push the kids hard (some might say too hard!), but we also have a lot of fun along the way. It is exciting to see a group of kids develop together and learn to work together to accomplish new things. The character development we see with players is even more valuable, and I try to pass on the lessons I learned from my coaches as a kid. The game may change over time, but it seems that the life lessons we learn from the game are timeless.

HAPPY 17th ANNIVERSARY TO NICK AND TIFFANY TENNEY