Michael White and Jordan Dittmar, the only two seniors on Pennridge’s club ice hockey team, have led their team through a successful 2019-2020 season, winning 10 of their 16 games. When asked about their experiences, both say that the team is very important to them and they enjoyed their time playing with Pennridge Rams Ice Hockey Club. In addition to the school team, both White and Dittmar play on travel teams. They have spent countless hours at practice for both teams in order to improve their game.

White has played ice hockey for 16 years, eight of which were with the Pennridge club team. He explained that hockey is one of the most important things that he does. White described playing hockey as his “adrenaline rush in life”, and said that he feels “out of it if [he doesn’t] have practice or a game in a week”. He also explained the importance of the connections he formed with his teammates, many of whom graduated before him. Traveling and working together as a team has allowed the athletes on the hockey team to become very close friends. Teammate bonds are imperative; friendship with the older team members has created long-lasting positive memories for him. White looks back on his first varsity tryouts in his freshman year as one of his best memories from eight years of Pennridge Hockey. After he broke his stick, a senior on the team lent him one. This act of kindness left a big impression. Due to his connection to the older players when he was an underclassman, White understands the importance of a senior mentoring an underclassman. He finds that making this connection can be challenging when he is only one of two seniors on the team.

Jordan Dittmar has played ice hockey for six years and has played three with Pennridge. She described the hockey rink as her “happy place”. She enjoys the competitive nature of the sport as well as traveling for tournaments, and bonding with her teammates. The support of her team has helped to boost her confidence and make school more enjoyable. The low number of seniors is also strange to Dittmar. Seniors had always been a substantial portion of the team; there were 15 seniors on the team for the 2018-2019 school year. In addition to being half of the senior presence on the team, Dittmar is in the unique position of being the only girl on the varsity team. Dittmar says her experience playing on the team has been extremely positive and has helped her greatly improve her skill, however, she said “it feels pretty weird because I can’t even get dressed in the same locker room as [her teammates]”. 

White and Dittmar hope that in the future the hockey team will receive more attention from the students and faculty at Pennridge. Both described the sport as underrated. Many people are unaware of the team, and games tend to have lower attendance than the players would like. This trend could change as underclassmen begin to take hold of the team. They may bring with them some new fans of this under-recognized team.