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CCHL NewsSumsion Commits to BGSU Falcons for 2010Date: Sep 29, 2009
For Chad Sumsion, the path of his hockey career has taken him from AAA hockey in Brantford to Junior B in Stratford to Junior A in Newmarket with various summer hockey tournaments mixed in between. All those travels though suddenly became well worth it when Sumsion received a call on his cell phone from a representative of Bowling Green State University offering him a Division I hockey scholarship. “I was speechless at the time,” Sumsion said of his reaction upon receiving the offer. “When I first got the call, I felt pretty emotional. I just think that all that effort was definitely well worth it now that I know that I have this great opportunity.” The opportunity will give Sumsion the chance to play for a school with a renowned hockey program strongly supported by both the University and the surrounding community. “I’m excited because I know that it’s a big hockey school,” said Sumsion. “The hockey program gets a lot of support from the students and it’s a big hockey community as well, the support expands well outside of just the school.” In addition, the current Hurricanes’ captain explained that he is anxious to measure his talents against other strong hockey programs within the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. “I’m probably most looking forward to the competition that I’m going to get when I go there (Bowling Green),” he said. “Bowling Green plays against a lot of pretty big hockey programs like Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State among others so I think that’s something that I’m looking forward to the most.” After a strong rookie season of Junior A hockey with the Newmarket Hurricanes in 2008/2009 in which he scored twenty eight goals and added thirty four assists – leading the team in both categories – several schools began courting Sumsion. But of all of the schools that he had spoken to, Sumsion said that he had his heart set on Bowling Green State University and hoped an offer would be forthcoming. In the end, it could not have worked out better. “I was pretty quick to jump on the offer,” recalled Sumsion. “It was probably of all the schools I had talked to, it was my number one choice anyway so it worked out perfect actually.” Since playing Junior B hockey in Stratford when he was seventeen, a scholarship was something that Sumsion was focused on. Now having accomplished the goal that he had been working toward for over two years, Sumsion admitted that a lot of pressure will now be off his shoulders as he looks to put together a strong finish to his Junior A career with the Hurricanes. “Definitely it takes off a lot of pressure,” explained Sumsion. “The whole school thing started when I played back in Stratford, Junior B hockey, when I was seventeen, that’s when I was first contacted by schools. For the past two years, it was something that I definitely thought about a lot so now that I’ve got it out of the way and I know where I’ll be next year, it’s definitely going to be a lot more relaxed and I’ll feel more comfortable out on the ice.” Though his hockey future now has some certainty, do not expect Sumsion to let up on his efforts with the Hurricanes over the remainder of the 2009/2010 campaign. “Now I have something else to work towards so that I’ll be able to make an impact when I get to Bowling Green State next year,” said Sumsion. “Getting there is one thing but my next step is to make sure I can contribute.” Following the NCAA over the past few years, two areas jumped out at Sumsion where he is determined to improve in to ensure that he leaves himself in the best possible position to contribute in his freshman year. “Probably my overall strength because I know the guys are going to be a lot older and it will be more like playing against men so overall strength will be very important,” explained Sumsion. “My foot speed as well because I know it’s going to be a much faster game than what I’m playing now so those are the two big areas I’m looking to improve on.”
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