Noelani Barrett '23 Recruiting Profile

A little about me. I was adopted at birth and am a 1st generation hockey player in my family, I think both my families. I first started playing when I was 5 and not only was I the only girl in the program, I was also the only African American in the program. I successfully passed Pre-Hockey 1, 2, & 3 and the 3 month long IP program (60 players) the first time through. I continued playing and when we moved to another state I had a great Girls Program Coach and Director. When I was 11 he had me suit up for U19 tournament games. In one of those games I scored the only goal of the game, for either team, with under 20 seconds left in the game! Another memorable U19 game I got to play in was against West Kootenay in a tournament in Missoula, MT. This year, Fall 2019, I made the 14U Girls Tier II State hockey team and our 1st tourney was in WA where 35 of my family members were able to see me play for the 1st time in my life, and in our 1st game against 39th in the nation Washington Wild, I scored the game winning goal! I couldn't believe it! This season I'm privileged and blessed to be playing on the Idaho Vipers (LW #20), Boise Fire Blades (C #40), and High School JV - the Rockets (C #14).

I have a unique nickname that I like to go by, NoMo. It's a combination of my first and middle name, Noelani Monique, and it's much easier for my coaches and players to call out and remember. Like many kids, I'm still maturing and learning to make myself and my team better; in hockey, volleyball, softball, and basketball, or whatever sport I'm playing. I'm a hard worker, I try to give my best effort every practice and game, and I'm getting much better at listening to my coaches and adjusting my game play. I'm also learning how to play left wing this year, after being a center my whole life. It's hard, but I'm trying to get better each shift. I work hard in school and earn good grades and all my teachers say they like me.

I like to encourage other teammates and I'm becoming a better team player. I feel I'm dedicated to putting in the work to stay in shape and reach my goals. For example, this past summer I was up at 6am to meet at my school for cross country training 4 times a week. I also attended  girls open gym basketball, working with the coaches to get ready for the up and coming season. I volunteered all summer at the Public Library, logging 53 hours, and I'm active with my church youth group. We talk, share, and encourage each other while enjoying a bon-fire, watching a movie, bible study, or on hikes. We also get together to clean up and prepare the summer campground for all the State-wide summer campers.

I had a drastic change my Freshman year in high school. I started at Taylor's Crossing Public Charter, about 170-180 high schoolers, and then we moved to Boise and now I go to a huge 5A high school with over 1800 students. I'm working hard on the adjustments to my new environment and work load. My new high school didn't offer an online Health class that I was already taking thru IDLA so I have 9 classes this semester instead of 8 and they moved me up a year in my Spanish class. It's a lot of hard work, but I know it will pay off. My collegiate goals are to be able to play hockey in college, I'll take any where. At first my aspirations were to play for the Badgers or the Gophers, but as I've grown I've realized how stiff the competition is out there. It's challenging me to work harder on all aspects of my conditioning, training, knowledge, and game play. I'm praying I can at least play D3 somewhere. I attended my first hockey camp in 2015 at the age of 10. My parents found an all-girls FCA camp (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) in Alexandria, Minnesota, one of my coaches was Jinelle Siergiej. After hearing her story, I started dreaming of playing for our US  Olympic team some day too. I practice stick handling and shooting at home along with weight training and cardio, and my parents try to take me to at least one hockey camp and Laura Stamm power skating clinic each summer. We also started a YouTube channel for me that has helped me see how I've grown and improved, and as a side note my biological family can search for me and learn about me before I turn 18 when we'll finally be allowed to search for and contact them (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIarqFvsIgA8uT6oFb85OvQ).

I think I would be a great candidate for any college because I love hockey, I'm a hard worker, and I feel like I could be a good mentor for other adopted kids or African American female hockey players, on and off the ice.