Shawnee Mission West's online student newspaper

smwest.com

Shawnee Mission West's online student newspaper

smwest.com

Shawnee Mission West's online student newspaper

smwest.com

Photo Of The Week

photo by Malcom Luna

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Geared For Success

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One could say that Devin Mitchell is like every average high school senior, he has his hobbies and friends and spends a lot of his time studying, but that wouldn’t be the entire truth. Much of his time is monopolized by a life-long pastime that he began in the first grade. Devin plays competitive ice hockey.

Devin may have been too young to remember his first interest in the sport, but his family recalls actions of his that were clear signs that he might have a future in ice hockey.

“My mom remembers taking us bowling at King Louie and I would be over watching the hockey players on the ice in the basement. She also remembers me watching “Happy Gilmore” a lot, so that might have contributed to it,” Mitchell said.

He began on local teams in his youth and worked his way up to increasingly competitive teams throughout the years. He has practiced hard and earned his promotions; he spends three hours a day after school training at the Independence Events Center, and then spends the rest of his night doing work for school. Due to his dedication, he has been able to play for an outstanding team.

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“For the past three years, I have played on one of the top teams in the top league in the country,” Mitchell said.

He plays for a very diverse team with which he travels all over the country competing. In just this season they will play in Boston, Detroit, Wisconsin, Denver, Los Angeles and many other cities. Several players on the team have turned down other great opportunities and even moved to Kansas City just to be a part of such a wonderful team.

“One of my best friends on the team is a goalie and he is from Connecticut. He came to play here instead of playing at a boarding school in New England because this team provides better opportunities to move on,” Mitchell said.

Devin trains year round, spending most of the off season in Minnesota and Canada. In reality, he does not lead a very average life at all, though it may seem like that to most. He hardly ever has time to do anything but work hard to assure a future for himself in his favorite sport.

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