WW-P grad working with USA Hockey
By: Bob Nuse
Ever since he was young, Yariv Amir has loved ice hockey.
In high school he was a four-year member of the West Windsor-Plainsboro High team, helping the Pirates to three solid seasons on the ice.
When he went on to college at Colgate University, his hockey playing was limited to the club level, helping his team to a intramural championship in 2000. But he also stayed involved with the sport as a student assistant on the Colgate Office of Athletic Communications, covered hockey for the school’s student newspaper and also did some color commentating of games on television.
Following his graduation, Amir was fortunate enough to be selected by USA Hockey as the recipient of the third annual Brian Fishman Internship, which is named in honor of the late Brian Fishman, who served as the Manager of Communications and Marketing for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 1998-99.
"It’s really a great honor to receive it," said Amir, who has been working for USA Hockey in Colorado Springs since September. "I applied and it worked out well. I was working in the sports information office at Colgate so I had gotten a taste for it and I really enjoyed it. I had experience working on that kind of thing at school and I wanted to try to stay around hockey."
Amir was selected from a national pool of candidates for the internship, which had previously been awarded to females from Miami (Ohio) and St. Cloud State.
"I had some of the experience they were looking for," said Amir, who attended the Under-17 World Championships in Winnepeg, Manitoba, as part of his job. "It’s great because you still get a chance to be part of the action. I love to play hockey, but I also enjoy being involved this way and being able to stay close to the sport."
During his career at WW-P, Amir played in 64 games and scored 23 goals. He also had 44 assists, 30 of which came as a senior when he helped the Pirates to a 14-6-1 record.
"I mostly just passed the puck to Lee (Jelenic)," Amir said with a laugh. "It was a lot of fun playing back then. I still try to keep up with how the teams are doing. I know they’re both having pretty good years this year.
"The thing I always remember is the great games we had with Notre Dame over the years. And I had a lot of fun my junior year when we made it to the third round of the states and played Brick."
These days his playing time is limited to once or twice a week in recreational league. But he’s still very close to the sport he loves so much.
"I compile and work on the two national college polls on Monday and Tuesday," Amir said. "I compile the votes and release the polls. I also work closely with the media. I get a chance to be around a lot of very good hockey, which is great."
His internship ends in June, at which time he’ll be looking to stay in the sports information field, preferably around hockey.
"I’d probably like to come back to the East eventually," he said. "I think this will help me a lot. I’ve had a chance to talk to a lot of people who are already doing this kind of work. Eventually I would love to get a shot at working in the NHL."
Until then, he’ll continue at USA Hockey, which has been a very rewarding experience.
"It’s been a lot of fun," Amir said. "I’ve met a lot of great people. I get to stay close to hockey, which is great for me."
And he’s represented the internship well.
"Yariv is a young man who exemplifies the integrity, enthusiasm and passion for hockey that so distinguished Brian," said Barry Fishman, Brian’s father. "His mother, Ruth, and I are proud to welcome Yariv to the tradition and excellence that the internship has come to represent."
The Brian Fishman Internship is given each year to an outstanding college graduate who is pursuing a career in athletic media relations.