Freshman Drew Wright’s driving experience has been limited to the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center parking lot in a stick shift Audi, one that has seen its fair share of excitement in the many years it’s been around. 

His dad’s affinity for cars led him to purchase the Audi in the first place, but the car’s ineffectual state led him to sell it again.

“The guy he sold it to fixed it up for his daughter,” Drew explained, “because he was going to give it to her, and then she didn’t want it because it was really hard to drive because it’s a stick shift. Then he fixed it up really [well] and gave it back to my dad, and he bought it back, and he said he’s never selling it again.”

While learning stick shift is undoubtedly a challenge, Drew hasn’t shied away from it, looking forward to the day when the car will be his to drive. In the meantime, he’s following along as his dad works to ensure the car’s drivability. 

In more ways than one, Drew and his dad have commingled their passions, from their mutual investment in refurbishing the Audi to the penchant for baseball that Drew has absorbed from his dad. 

But even in the pursuit of his own unique passions, Drew has tried to keep his dad on his team. Balancing out all that his dad has taught him and passed down to him, Drew tried to bring his dad into the arena of hockey that he’s devoted a vast portion of his life to. 

However, Drew’s dad didn’t share this natural propensity for gracefulness on ice, a fact that stands out in Drew’s memory of bringing his dad to an open team at Patterson Ice Center.

“He tried to stop once,” Drew said, “and he face-planted, almost went into the boards. It was funny, and he didn’t try to stop anymore.”

While Drew’s dad has since retired from his brief career on the ice, he and Drew’s mom can always be found behind the glass at his hockey games, showing their love and support. 

Hockey has been an important fixture in Drew’s life since he was four years old. From team to team, it has remained a constant, one that allows Drew to immerse himself in the speedy rhythm and play without inhibitions.

“[What I like about hockey is] how fast it is and how much quick energy there is,” Drew said. “There are short shifts, and you just go a hundred percent the whole time.”

Going a hundred percent and devoting time and energy to the pursuit of hockey has paid off for Drew. He is now one of three freshmen on the varsity team—a venture that has upped the tempo and excitement of playing hockey.

As a freshman on varsity, Drew has acquired an abundance of valuable experience, from facing formidable rival teams to making mistakes and learning from them, to establishing a strong foundation with the more senior members of the team. 

“A lot of the upperclassmen—they’re really nice,” Drew said. “I’ve gotten a lot better since starting high school. When you make a mistake, they won’t yell at you; they’ll tell you what to do better, and it helps.”

The atmosphere that surrounds the team has made for relationships that extend beyond the bounds of practices and games. Drew frequently joins his teammates in attending hockey games as fans, often to watch their rivals and keep tabs on their success or lack thereof. 

But Drew has also formed a different bond with his fellow freshmen teammates, one that’s built on the unique nature of their situation and the pressure that may accompany it. 

With three more years of varsity hockey on the horizon, the memory of this freshman year shared between Drew and his other freshmen teammates will always bear some degree of significance, a memory of banding together and making the most of the priceless opportunity they’ve been granted.

“All the other freshmen that play hockey kind of look up to you,” Drew said. “And you just have your little group of freshmen that get bullied by upperclassmen sometimes.”