#SHFTpodcast
Episode 5 - Terry Martin - From minor hockey, to the NCAA & beyond
This is the story of Terry Martin, an ice hockey goaltender from Alberta, who was recruited to play roller hockey at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
During his time at UNLV, he was recruited to play for the Men’s Varsity Hockey Team, which he had no idea existed until he go to Las Vegas, and ended up helping that program earn NCAA Division 1 status.
He did that while completing his education, continuing to play on the roller-hockey team and all in the city of unlimited temptation, Las Vegas.
He also played roller hockey on the world stage, competing internationally for Team Canada.
But that’s far from where the story ends. The loss of his dad, combined with his desire for continued education, led him to the University of Waterloo, where he just completed his studies, and shared in the experiences of playing hockey, both in USports action and overseas, with his younger brother Trevor, who’s a starting goaltender for the men’s varsity team. That’s led to some of the greatest memories he’ll take away from the game, as is clearly evidenced by how passionately he speaks about it during our conversation.
Episode 4 - Stephanie Sluys - Her journey from minor hockey to USports
Stephanie Sluys accomplished just about everything there was for her to do as a female goaltender playing in USports, during her career.
She earned Rookie of the Year honors and was named to the All-Rookie Team of the OUA conference in 2015, she was twice named team MVP while at the University of Waterloo and was an Academic All-Canadian all four years of her undergrad.
She won the Marsden Trophy as Female Athlete of the Year at the University of Waterloo in 2017 and she was awarded the Shield of Excellence Award in 2018 for outstanding contribution to sport, academics and community service at the University of Waterloo.
And in the midst of doing all that, she represented USports and Team Canada at the FISU games in Kazakhstan in 2017, bringing home a silver medal for her efforts.
In this podcast she talks about her path from minor hockey in rural Ontario, where she started out playing with boys, to her junior career in the PWHL and how being close to home so her mom could watch her play in person, had a big impact on her decision to play hockey at the University of Waterloo.
She also talks about what it was like to go to centralized training camp in Calgary for Team Canada in the summer of 2016, and what it was like to play internationally for her country.
Episode 3 - Trevor Martin - From minor hockey, to the WHL, to USports
In this episode we have a conversation with Western Hockey League veteran and current University of Waterloo goaltender Trevor Martin.
He takes us on a journey, from his start playing goal in Alberta, along a winding path through junior hockey that saw stops in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and British Columbia
Hockey League, all the way to the Western Hockey League, where he played in 83 games for Saskatoon, Red Deer and Calgary, with a short stint in the Quebec Major Junior League thrown in there for good measure.
It’s a winding path that so many goaltenders have to follow to make it to major junior, so it’s a great listen for those aspiring to play there, or professionally, some day. His journey has now led him to the University of Waterloo, where he’s putting his WHL scholarship funding to great use, having just finished up his third year in the Recreation & Leisure program.
Episode 2 - Mikayla Schnarr - Her journey from minor hockey to USports
Mikayla Schnarr is a Waterloo, Ontario native who just finished her first season playing goal for her hometown University of Waterloo Warriors in USports.
During this conversation we'll touch on how she got started playing the position, the things she learned along the way, through junior and high-performance training camps, to her current spot at the University of Waterloo, and talk about how she's adapted to change in her game and the success that's brought her.
Her experiences in the game range from playing multiple seasons in the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL), to narrowly missing the cut to make the roster for the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) U18 team, and an OFSAA high school girls hockey championship in 2019.
She had an outstanding first season with the University of Waterloo in 2019-20, starting 17 games, posting 11 wins, with three shutouts, a .936 save percentage and 1.81 GAA, while facing an average of just under 30 shots per 60 minutes played. Those numbers earned her team rookie of the year and OUA all-rookie team honors.
Episode 1 - Morgan Baker - Her journey from minor hockey to USports
An in-depth look at the journey from minor hockey to playing in USports with fourth year, University of Regina Cougars goaltender Morgan Baker.
This conversation was had to create a resource for young female goaltenders with the ability to ascend to the NCAA/USports level, providing them with guidance and insight into how the process takes place and when it should begin, from the perspective of a goaltender who has made that journey.
During this conversation, Morgan talks specifically about how she got started playing goal, and at what age, as well as other sports she played growing up in the small Western Ontario town of Kincardine.
You'll hear about her progression through minor hockey and the point that she went "all in" as a goaltender with her commitment to training for the position.
She also speaks about discovering that she needed to be in the PWHL in order to get serious looks from university scouts, and the challenges she faced finding a spot, with just one season of U18 eligibility remaining when she made the decision to go that route.
You'll also hear about how it came right down to the wire for her to be offered an opportunity to play USports, and what she learned through that pressure packed situation. We also talk about the things she values most in the game, and the biggest lessons the game has taught her.
It's a jam packed hour of listening that will undoubtedly enlighten you to the process of developing your game and your knowledge of options towards playing university hockey.