While there has always been a very competitive and talented group of athletes in the scholastic sports programs on Long Island, during the last few years it seems the talent pool has widened. Many local student athletes have gone on to higher education with scholarships in such sports as baseball, football, lacrosse and soccer to name a few, but how about hockey? Yes, hockey.

While we never know for sure what the future can bring, it appears that there are some bright stars on the horizon. These athletes are all eighth-graders at Jericho Middle School. These three very talented and hardworking hockey players are 14-year-olds Garett Goodman, Danny Markowitz and Brett Podolsky. These three young men were all picked for the NY State Amateur Hockey Association Select 14-year-old Eastern Region. In order to make the team they had to tryout against competition from Nassau, Suffolk, the five Boroughs, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties. There were only 15 players picked, six of whom were defensemen, so these three boys certainly have made their school proud. While this was quite an accomplishment in and of itself, Goodman was further selected as one of the 20 players of the NY State team.

Most recently the three boys have just competed in the Quebec International Pee Wee Hockey Tournament throughout Canada. In Canada, Goodman played for the Junior Islanders, Markowitz for the Junior Rangers and Podolsky for the Junior Whalers. This tournament is represented by teams from 16 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Sweden and Germany. They each enjoyed a great deal of success while competing against the finest competition their age group had to offer from around the world.

Each of these young men plays as a defenseman, but have different features and skills to their game. Their success has not come easy because hockey, not like that of other major sports, calls for very early morning or late evening prices due to lack of ice time. Maintaining good grades as these boys do and making time to practice at all hours of the day calls for a complete dedication. Some past names who have previously played in the Quebec Pee Wee Tournament have been Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemeux and Guy Lafleur.