Goalies in hockey not only are required to have the best reflexes and skills, but they also need the composure to be able to save the team by making game-winning saves.

Eli Harris-Trent ‘19 has the ability to do all of this and more. Along with being a great hockey player, he is known around the school as one of the nicest and smartest students to roam the halls.

As the team was looking towards a rebuilding year, Harris-Trent may have just changed their goals from rebuilding to competing in the OK Gold conference.

“I started playing when I was eight for the Austin Roadrunners,” Harris-Trent said.

Experience is key in sports and with over ten years of high level play under his belt, Harris-Trent is already looking promising to change the hockey culture this year. He also began his life and hockey career in Texas but later decided to make the move to East Grand Rapids.

“Getting to play for a student section for the first time in my career,” Harris-Trent said on what he was most excited for this season.

The student sections at East are a tradition and playing in front of them is what every athlete looks forward to. With Harris-Trent on the team, the crowd will be filled every home game to watch him do what he does best.

Even though being a stellar athlete can be distracting, Harris-Trent doesn’t let it ruin the balance between academics and athletics.

“I try to use any work time in school well because I know I won’t have a bunch of time when I get home. I also make sure I start long term assignments early enough so I’m not slammed near the deadline. For other activities I just remember that there’s more to life than just hockey and make sure to block out time to do other things,” Harris-Trent said.

Remembering that there is more in life than a sport or job is important but also a very challenging thing to do. Harris-Trent does this everyday while putting in an immense amount of work into both school and hockey. He knows that hockey doesn’t rule his entire life, but it does teach him many valuable life lessons.

“I’ve learned a ton over my years playing, but most importantly that no matter how bad things go the sun still rises the next day. Playing goalie has honestly taught me an incredible number of life lessons, it’s difficult to single out just one or two,” Harris-Trent said.

Hockey has taught Harris-Trent to be able to see the important things in life and look over the bad things and move on. This is not just a hobby for at this point, it is a way of life that has given the opportunity to grow and do something he loves at the same time.