Erin Monk '27 Recruiting Profile

I first started playing hockey when I was just 7 years old, after watching the sport I decided I wanted to give it a shot. This is where I fell in love with my soon-to-be passion. After skating as a player for a couple of months, I decided to try being a goalie during one of my 8u rec games, and I found where I was meant to be; in goal. Quickly, my dream to play for a top collegiate girl's hockey team formed, and I work towards this goal every single day. 

Throughout my years of playing hockey, I have developed many strengths. These include my mental toughness and ability to rebound and adapt to situations, my play awareness, and my ability to read and track the puck off the player's stick. In addition, I use my speed that I have worked hard to develop on and off the ice to move quickly across the crease. I combine this with my athleticism to make clutch saves when put into moments of desperation. Whether I am in the net or not, I work hard to put on my leadership role and cheer on and support my teammates, especially my goalie partner, and encourage everyone by leading by example to put the team first before themselves and do everything you can for your teammates. In my 2nd and 3rd season with the team, I was named assistant captain where I took on this leadership role and did my best to lead the team by example and show others how to be the best teammate they can be. 

Off the ice, I spend countless hours training in the weight room for strength and speed, as well as doing goalie-focused work such as hand-eye coordination, stretching, and working on the strength of my shot, as well as mental strength training. I do all of this in order to become the best goalie I can be.

I have always played with a boys or co-ed team, starting with house league and eventually branching into 5 travel hockey seasons, but most of my seasons consisted of me being the only girl on the team. These seasons of being the only girl came with many obstacles, such as not fitting in with the rest of the team and not being seen as equal. I built my mental fortitude through these trials, and I developed the ability to support myself and have a strong grasp on the mental aspect of my game. I use this ability constantly in net when I have to recover from a bad play, where I can rebound quickly and not let aspects of the game get into my head and frustrate me. These trials throughout being the only girl have taught me that I am a strong person mentally, and I have incredible determination and grit, which I constantly translate into my daily life as well as my academic career.

I also translate the hard work and dedication I display on the ice in the classroom. I enjoy learning about new topics, and strive to be the best student I can be, and I do what it takes to get to this place. In my freshman year of high school, I pushed myself by taking an honors Spanish 2 class, and by the end of the year, I earned a weighted gpa of 4.5, (4.0 unweighted). I also was named Headmaster's list in my first year. This year I will push myself again in the classroom and take 4 honors courses, and I will strive to be the best in every one of them. Outside the classroom, I take on leadership as a head sacristan for my school's communion club, and I am also a member of my school's diversity club. In the summer, I volunteer as a counselor for faith-based camps for children, where I make an impact on the community by helping children strengthen their religious beliefs. I also give back to the hockey community by working as an official.

I dream of attending a top college where I can push myself both athletically and academically. My athletic goal is to play at the highest level possible collegiately. Academically, I aspire to study medicine and eventually become an anesthesiologist or orthopedic surgeon and give back to athletes like myself, translating my hard work into my future career field where I will make a significant impact on the community around me and the world as a whole.