TOPSHAM

Sports enthusiasts know Mt Ararat High School’s Devon Hutchins as an outstanding ice hockey player and softball player.

But, Devon’s capabilities go far beyond her sports abilities. According to Allen Graffam, longtime Mt Ararat teacher, softball coach and National Honor Society Advisor, “Devon is a tireless worker who is passionate about all she does. Devon is a very motivated young woman with the work ethic, intelligence, charisma and desire to make a difference in her world both for herself and for others.

“She is much more than just an exceptional student, leader, athlete and friend. She is also active in Girl Scouts, donates her time and seemingly endless supply of energy to various causes in the community and introduces young girls to the game of ice hockey.”

In this interview, Devon discusses her years at Mt. Ararat and her immediate future plans.

Q — Has your four years at Mt. Ararat gone by fast?

A — It goes by a lot faster than you planned and you don’t really believe it until the last couple of weeks that it’s coming to an end.

Q — When did you start playing hockey and softball?

A — I started playing softball in elementary school and hockey in the eighthgrade.

Q — Which is your favorite sport?

A — I like them both equally, but for different reasons. There are some things I love hockey more for and other things I love softball more for. In hockey, I really like the aggression and contact, even though it’s girls. In softball, I like the head game you get, the rush from hitting, and running around really fast.

Q — Let’s talk about hockey a little bit. Hockey became a varsity sport while you were here. Before, you played as a club team in middle school and high school. What’s the difference between the varsity atmosphere and a club atmosphere?

A — The difference was that when playing club, we never practiced. We just showed up and played games. In a way, playing club was a lot more fun and easygoing. We would stop at a favorite eating place, depending on the arena. It was really more about eating and sharing a common bond than developing hockey skills. That was the experience you got. Then when we started playing varsity, we had practice every day. We had to get up at four o’clock in the morning, and we started to get more ice time to practice skills, and to develop some hockey knowhow. It was necessary to compete at the varsity level. But, we still bonded as a team after practice and before school with stops at the Little Dog in Brunswick.

Q — How did you like those early morning practices?

A — They’re not bad. They were really fun. Waking up that early sounds really terrible, and for a little while it is terrible, but you get used to it. You get to be with your teammates and do something you love, so it makes it easier.

Q — Did you ever take a nap in the afternoon and wake up at 4:30 in the afternoon and think it was 4:30 the next morning?

A — No, but I know several of my friends have and they’re like ‘Oh no, I’m late for practice!’

Q — Would you go to bed really early?

A — I would normally go to bed before nine.

Q — How did it affect your academics? Did it help you manage your time?

A — It definitely makes you plan your time better and you need to make sure you get everything in on time. There is no extra time to make up the work. You definitely want to keep up your work because you don’t want to affect your GPA and you don’t want to let down your teammates by becoming academically ineligible for a game. You always want to do the best that you can, both on and off the ice.

Q — What was your biggest thrill as an athlete at Mt. Ararat?

A — Umm, let me see. Hitting my first home run last year was big. Making the playoffs in hockey in just our second season this year was rewarding. And presenting before the School Board meeting to get girls hockey approved as a varsity sport was another big moment not only for me, but for all the girl hockey players going forward.

Q — Your dad is the hockey coach. Are there advantages and disadvantages to that?

A — I really like it. I mean, when I am on the ice, I am not his kid, I am just one of his players. I have seen with other kids whose fathers are coaches some kind of weird friction, but it’s not like that with my dad. We get along great.

Q — Do they have an alumnae game for the girls like the annual Brunswick/Mt. Ararat Boys Battle of the Bridge games?

A — I hope they will because there are a lot of graduates from Brunswick and Mt Ararat who would play. And it would be a good fundraiser.

Q — I know this is supposed to be top secret, but were you the Eagle mascot on several occasions.

A — Shhh. It’s a secret. It was really fun. I liked doing it. The other students would get pumped up and say OMG, there’s the Eagle. I only did it for home soccer games.

Q — What are your plans for next year?

A — Next year I will be attending Mount Saint Mary’s University and playing on their softball team.

Q — Where is that?

A — It’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It’s about 11 hours away. My dad is more concerned about the distance than I am.

Q — Do you know who your roommates will be?

A — I’ll be rooming with another freshman on the softball team. There are five of us so I’ll either get a double or a triple — to put it in softball terms. Two of the other girls are from Arizona and one is from Maryland and one is from Pennsylvania. So the girls from Arizona will be able to relate to me because of the distances from home.

Q — As far as hockey goes, MSMU doesn’t have a hockey rink so how will you get your hockey fix?

A — Well, there is a boys club hockey team there and they play at a rink not too far away. I don’t know if I will have time for it, but, if not, when I come home for Christmas, I will definitely plan to attend a practice.

Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU) softball coach Anna Nagro was attracted to Devon because she believes “that Devon is a good athlete, who given the proper training and coaching has the chance to grow into a great Division I student/ athlete. We strive to pick well-rounded student/athletes who will buy into the program and work hard to get better and I think Devon fell into all those categories.”

Even though MSM does not have a women’s ice hockey program, coach Nagro recognized “the hard work, discipline, and toughness that comes from playing hockey. I also like athletes who play more than one sport.”

Ed. note — Devon Hutchins is scheduled to play in the Senior All-Star Softball Game Thursday at Cony High School.