Sean Ray '18 Recruiting Profile

My interest in hockey started at the age of seven when I enrolled in local hockey club's Learn to Skate program.  For the majority of my hockey career I have played defense. On the rare occasions when I was asked to play wing or center I have done it from a defensive mind set which has helped me understand positioning on the ice in the offensive zone. With guidance from my parents that academics come first, we made the decision that I would play in the local club's recreation program during my Squirt through Midget years. Although classified as recreation program, we traveled to play league and tournament competition in the MD, DC, and VA area which consisted of A-AAA players.  This plan allowed me to play the game of hockey and have the necessary time to concentrate on my studies. Playing recreation hockey also gave me the opportunity to get a great deal of ice time that I feel helped me get exposed to all kinds of situations on the ice and forced me to make quick hockey decisions during a game. 

I immediately joined my high school hockey team when I entered the 9th grade.  We were a pure HS team my freshman year and the past two years we have been a co-op team that consisted of five different high schools. Even though our team has not been that successful the past two years, I have learned how to become a better teammate since all of us had different backgrounds and were in some cases from rival schools.  Working together and having each other's back was stressed by our coach and I feel it helped us bond as a team and become friends on and off the ice.

My parents also ensured that along with my academic and hockey experiences I was in some way giving back to the community.  I have volunteered at the local church food bank, helped my mother and the other teachers at her school with kindergarten orientation, participated in various charitable activities through my high school clubs and the most fun I have had is working as an assistant instructor with my high school coach in the local Learn to skate program.

My pursuit to become a college student athlete begins with my academic goals of achieving a four-year degree in either mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering or computer science.  It is only recently, that I decided to purse the opportunity to play ice hockey at the college level.  My colleges visits so far have been focused on the schools that would provide me with an opportunity to pursue a degree in my chosen major and if they have an ice hockey program that would allow me to continue my love of the game than even better.  I feel that my overall hockey IQ, transitional skating abilities, being a good team member and overall character would allow me to make contributions to any program at the college level.  As my profile indicates, my aptitude to learn and excel in honors and AP level courses provides me with a solid base to start my academic college career.  

Although I was younger then the majority of the players on my high school team I was recognized by my coach as a leader and designated as an Assistant Captain in my sophomore and junior years.  I have been designated as the HS team Captain for my senior year.  Also, I was nominated by my high school coach and selected as a Hobey Baker Character Award winner at the end of this past season.(2016-2017).

If given the opportunity, I feel that I have the necessary skills to contribute to a team's success at the collegiate hockey level.