The following essay was submitted by Charlie Evans, 2020 winner of The Stevie Strong Scholarship award. Charlie has granted his permission to share this with you and others who would apply for future awards from the Stevie Strong Foundation.
Scholarship Essay
Hockey has consumed my life since I first put those small metal blades on my feet. I knew from that instant that hockey would be my everything for as long as it could. As I grew older and moved up the ladder of the hockey world, I realized that sometime in the early months of 2023, I would be lacing up the skates for the final time at the end of my senior season. That day, February 22, 2023, has come and passed. It’s possible my time on the ice may have ended, but that is yet to be determined. Now, it is time to shift my focus toward what my life will consist of after high school graduation.
I figured out what I wanted to do after high school at a young age. Or so I thought. The big metal tubes that floated majestically through the air every day fascinated me to a level unknown to my young self. I remember being on an airplane for the first time and having a vision of me sitting in the captain’s seat, flying in and out of airports. It was determined. I was going to be a pilot. I watched videos and television shows to learn everything I could about flying. However, as I got closer to high school, my family helped me have a realization. I was now at the age where I could take classes to obtain my pilot’s license, but I had done nothing of the sort. Was I truly set on being a pilot, or was there a better path that I could take after high school? I remember conversing with my mother on the way back from practice one night. She asked me why I had never considered a career in what she deemed was my true passion.
Sports.
She was right. If there was a sporting event on television, I would be watching it. If I wasn’t watching, I was outside playing instead. Hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, you name it. Sports was my true passion, not being a pilot. Not only that, but the fascination came with the statistics of the game. Hearing the most absurd statistic during a game only made me more intrigued by what was happening. That was when I realized sports analytics was the right path for me.
For every team I played on, in both hockey and lacrosse, the same nickname has stuck with me like glue – “Statman”. Every statistic, record, and score from opposing teams or recent league updates is already in my head before the upcoming game. Teammates ask me a question regarding an opponent, and they know I will always have the answer. I can’t shake the name, so I have learned to embrace it. What started as a nickname, has turned into an important enough interest that I am choosing it as my intended career path. Studying sports data and analytics is what truly interests me. It occupies my free time and is leading me down a career path full of opportunities.
Following this passion into college is the goal. I have applied to programs at different schools across the country specializing in pursuing a career in Sports Analytics. I have been accepted into four universities and am waiting on a fifth. My top choices consist of Miami University and the University of Tennessee. I will add Syracuse University to that list if I am accepted in the next few weeks. When I depart for my first year of college in the fall, wherever that may be, I know that I will pursue a career in a field I truly enjoy.
Wanting to pursue a career like this comes from having values instilled in me since I could first remember. Everyone has their idol or hero who has influenced them to become who they are today. For me, that was a hockey coach. His name was Robert “Bob” Falconer, and I had him for two consecutive years during my youth career. Having him as a coach not only changed my hockey career but changed the person I was becoming. Falconer pushed me daily on the ice, helping me improve in every aspect of the game. He was the one that taught me how to skate backward better than I could forward. He was the one that made me become a leader. He was captain of the Michigan Wolverines hockey team from 1970-1974, and that was one of the many reasons I looked up to him. I wanted to be a captain and follow in his footsteps. I even imagined being captain of the Wolverines hockey team, wearing the same uniforms that Falconer once wore. I wanted to be him.
Falconer helped me mature at a young age. He was determined to make the young kids on his team become gentlemen very quickly. We were told we couldn’t rely on our parents to help us get dressed since we weren’t five years old anymore. Additionally, we had to be out of the locker room 10 minutes after we got off the ice or we were kicked out. Literally. He would take our bags, put them in the middle of the hallway, and lock the door to the room; he wasn’t messing around. But the biggest shock was that if we were to miss a practice or game, we had to call him and talk to him. If he didn’t answer, it was almost worse. We were told to leave a message. If we didn’t, punishments were given at practice. At the time, I couldn’t imagine having a conversation over the phone with someone I deemed superior and sometimes scary.
But Falconer was a genius. Not only did this teach us skills that we would need in the outside world as we grew older, but it forced us to take accountability for ourselves and our actions instead of having our parents be our safety blanket. We were building independence and learning how to become men as 10-year-old boys. Additionally, Falconer pushed me to be a competitive person. He always pushed me to finish first in every drill, be the first one there before every game, and always be the best player I could be. This translates to the real world and allows me to push myself to the best of my abilities no matter the situation.
Coach Falconer will always stick with me as a figure who changed me into who I am today. My parents loved Falconer because they saw a change in me from the first time I met him at tryouts, where I was frightened by his yelling, to the final time I skated with him as I looked back at him, thanking him for everything he has done for me. I encourage myself daily to be like Robert Falconer in every aspect I can, except for the facial hair since he had a crazy mustache. But before I end this essay, one Falconer saying has stuck with me above everything: “CHANGEEEEE”. While he said it to switch the personnel on the ice, it means so much more as I look back. I hope everyone finds their Coach Falconer.