Student Joe Allen is a recent transfer from Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Maryland. He played varsity ice hockey both his freshman and sophomore year at his old school then transferred to North Harford his junior year.
Allen explains the change from private to public school “presented a wide variety of
challenges.” One of those is not able to play hockey for his school anymore. He describes that transition as “the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.”
If a hockey team was an option at North Harford, Allen says he would “definitely play” because he is going to “miss the sport” after having played for the last 11 years. The closest public school with an ice hockey team is Fallston High School. He says, “if the opportunity was given for me to play for Fallston while still attending North Harford I would.”
When attending Curley, the nearest rink was 45 minutes away, the same distance from North Harford to the same establishment. A bus would transport the athletes from Curley to Ice World located in Edgewood, Maryland. Allen says he would be “willing to make the trip if a bus transported students from North Harford to Ice World if a team was created.”
The transfer comes from long lines of hockey in his blood which made him want to play the sport at a young age. He describes "hockey has been in my family for four generations, so for me playing was way of representing my family and carrying on a legacy.”
Allen’s most vivid memory is skating with his family when vacationing at his lake house in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. He states that his family is “from New England they all know how to play hockey pretty well and it has made for some pretty special times out on the
lake.”
The athlete describes playing lake hockey as “heaven for any hockey player.” He enjoys the“freedom and zero constraints the outdoors holds.” When being on a pond or lake Allen feels “so comfortable.” He believes “being outside puts everything into perspective for a player and allows you to have an unlimited skating area.”