COLUMN: On the job (ice) training

Nobody needs player development more than PHS girls hockey

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Jeff Schneider was surprised to learn that all four of the captains on his Princeton High School girls ice hockey team were new to the sport as freshmen.
   It’s the norm, however, rather than the exception for the Little Tigers. Like many fencing teams, they rely heavily on development of players who take up the sport in ninth grade. Some newcomers don’t know how to hold the hockey stick.
   Some have barely skated before joining PHS.
   ”I call them wall huggers,” Schneider said.
   Nineteen first-timers came out for PHS this year. The ones that stick it out for the next three years have an insatiable thirst to learn. They seem to soak up the sport. It’s not hard to weed out the ones that don’t want to be there, or can’t make the commitment due to schoolwork and outside commitments. Few things test dedication like regular 5:30 a.m. practices at Baker Rink at Princeton University.
   If that’s not enough, Princeton is a public school in a mostly private league. Many of its games are hours away. Those are the games that are covered, but some that aren’t reported are some of the most important. Nobody needs JV games more than PHS, which tries to find playing time for every girl on its roster.
   ”We put them out there based on what we see with effort and ability,” Schneider said. “The JV games are very important to us in terms of development. I don’t know of any other team that has 33 girls on the roster.”
   It’s what helped this year’s quartet of captains become the players they are, and there are others that are able to contribute for the Little Tigers this year that have developed plenty. Stephanie Miezin scored twice in Wednesday’s 7-4 win over Upland.
   ”Last year as a sophomore, she was on the cusp,” Schneider said. “We’ve seen progress over the year. This year, she was our first-line center against Upland. She’s worked at it and as a junior, she’s a first-line player with the team.”
   Schneider can go through his roster for other success stories. Neta Nakesh hails from Israel, and she was a wall hugger last year when she took up the sport as a freshman. But with each week, she progressed.
   ”We played JV games and when we started putting her in, we saw she was doing pretty well as a defenseman,” Schneider said. “She’s a soccer player and was using her feet a lot to keep the puck in the zone. Now this year, she’s in our regular defensive rotation.”
   She was part of the team that helped the Little Tigers improve to 4-2 Wednesday. She fits the philosophy of Schneider, who is in his second year as PHS coach.
   ”We want them to get better and see who’s going to be a breakout player,” he said. “You keep giving the girls opportunities and see who’s going to seize the opportunity.”
   Each day, after drills together with every player, practices are divided between those that are ready to help the varsity now and those that will be down the road.
   ”As long as they’re better hockey players by the end of the season than when they started, then we’ve seen progress,” Schneider said. “We have two new goalies. We’re trying to give them experience. We have 19 new freshmen and sophomores. Only a couple girls, Keely Herring and Abby Hunter, have experience. We’re looking for improvement from Player 1 to 33. We want all of them to improve their game.”
   They have to in order for the PHS girls ice hockey team to continue to be contenders in a competitive league.