As the hockey season draws near, the Morris Mavericks are looking to build on last season, and manager/teacher representative Seth Cory is looking forward to the year.
Excitement building
Morris is very passionate about their hockey, and Cory says it's that passion that makes the start of the season so exciting. "We've got quite a program in Morris, we take pride in what we do for these young student-athletes. We're very excited to get going, and I know my coaches are raring to go. We're going to get started soon. We have captains skates Monday and Tuesday, then training camp will go from there with tryouts and all of that."
Expectations set
Having worked hard to build a respected program, Cory says that when kids come in, there's already a set expectation, and understanding of what it takes to be a Maverick. "That's been established from the time this program was built by guys like Darren Skog, Barry Lewis, all those people before me, Dale Leeman, we've established that to the point now that where it's a cycle. You get the grade ten's coming in, the grade twelves and elevens you have, they're letting the guys know that are coming in that we play a certain way, the expectations we have, this his how we behave in the classroom, these are our goals. We always try our best to win, we want success, and we want to be good people. It's a core goal for us every year, not only to produce stats, but produce good people. You can see it year after year, I've seen guys around Morris that played for the program ten years ago, they want to know how the team looks, and they care about us. It's a crazy thing to me that high school hockey can be so established in a small town, and that people care that much about the program still. It's awesome."
Rookies turned veterans
Looking at the core group of returning players, Cory says watching their growth over the years has been special, and they're ready for what's to come. "It's exciting. You get these young little grade ten's coming in, they are nervous, they're coming into an environment where you're playing an 18-year-old with a beard, 200 pounds, and they're men, then you got this little grade ten that's not fully grown, and looking a little nervous. You look at our leadership group this year, how far they've come and how much they've grown as athletes, as leaders, as students, and it's just so exciting. It's established from the top down, the coaches establish what they want to see in their leadership group, the leaders of last year pass it on to the leaders for this year. We have really good people, good people in the program, and we keep cycling through. I'm excited to see our grade twelve's take the role of leadership this year."
Balancing studies and hockey
As student-athletes, Cory believes that strong academics is just as important as strong on-ice skills, and that balance can be tough. "It's an important thing, balancing both," he says. "It comes from the top down, it comes from the schools, we have three schools involved in our co-op program. We all have the same message in mind, we're all on the same page that everyone needs to be in the classroom on game days, no one is skipping school or doing things like that. We have accountability for that. We want our kids to be getting their education, we want them to know that they get their high school diploma, and that opens doors, whether it's in the work force, the trades, going to university, maybe getting that opportunity to go to a small junior college to continue your hockey career. I did that as an athlete, I played high school hockey, then I got the opportunity to go down to Bottineau and play a couple of years. It was great for me. The message that being in the classroom, being a good student opens doors, that's the main thing we want for our athletes, as well as them having success on the ice."
Community around the team
A lot of people make this Morris Mavericks team as special as it is, and Cory says it takes everyone. "We are very fortunate, we're a co-op school, and the support we have from St. Pierre, St. Malo and Morris, the support is unbelievable. People come in to watch our games, the rink is packed. We have 200 or 300 people at a game. Parents are involved, they volunteer to make meals for the kids on the bus. We voted his year we're going on a trip to New Brunswick to play in a tournament out there, something new and exciting for the guys, and the parents are fully supportive. Our coaching staff, I can't say enough about them, Dale Leeman, Brayden Klippenstein, and Wyatt Sabourin, they are just so great. They did amazing things for the program, and winning a provincial championship starts with the leadership of them, and them passing it on to the players. They were all former Morris Mavericks at some point of their lives, and they are all volunteers, they all came back, they wanted to be a part of it, and they wanted to help it succeed. That speaks volumes about the Morris Mavericks program that has been built here."