The Massachusetts Satellite Program was one of the
greatest experiences of my life. I am not only
grateful to the program for sharing their hockey
expertise, but also because it enabled me to form
lifelong friendships, with not only the players, but
the coaches as well.

I was lucky enough to join the
Satellite Program at the age of 13, having never
really played much summer hockey. One of the things
which attracted me to the satellite program was that
they stressed the importance of having fun and that
it was okay to play other sports in the off season.

Although we were skating during the summer, it was
not a tournament in Montreal where one would be
playing five or six games a weekend. Instead, I was
at Boston University skating for an hour and a half and doing
off ice activities on the football field, having fun
with my teammates, while being led by Ernie Butler
for another hour.

The highlight of the program, which drove everyone
each week to work hard and improve their skills was
the chance to be a part in a tournament with a select
group of players. This was a select team for the top
players in each age group in the MASTP. The team was
not selected on talent alone, it was determined by
what kind of person you were, as well as the type of
player you were.

All of the coaches who selected the
team were either College or Professional coaches,
judging the athletes character, before judging the
players ability. I was fortunate enough each year to
be apart of this Mass Select team. As part of a
member of these select teams, we would travel all
over and play against some of the top talent out
there, which is why I feel that being a part of the
MASTP had such a great influence on my hockey
career.

I was fortunate enough to each year be selected to
the Mass Select team. My first year in the program we traveled to Burlington VT.
In the second year our 14 year old age group traveled to Vancouver BC and
competed against some of the top talent in all of
British Columbia and we had a very good tournament and
lost in the finals.

Our team always seemed to
fair well no matter who we were playing against,
having the talent of guys like Ryan Whitney, Mike
Morris, Brian McConnell, and plenty of other
Division 1 and future professionals.
The next year we traveled to Ann Arbor Michigan to the
University of Michigan to for the select 15 year old festival.

This was a big honor for kids 15 years old, we were
staying at one of the nations most prestigious
University’s and were playing in the Ann Arbor Ice
Cube, the new home of the US National Developmental
Program. It was quite overwhelming to be playing in
front of coaches from every college in the country
but the experience was great and again out team did
well, but did not win the tournament.

Each year the pressure becomes higher and higher
because by the age of 16 my teammates and I were all
starting to talk with colleges and therefore we had
to perform to earn a college scholarship. Luckily
this year in St. Cloud Minnesota my teammates and I
were fortunate enough to have Mark Bavis and Tom
Mutch as our coaches. With the leadership of these
two guys we had a great tournament and really became
a strong team in the tournament.

By the 17 year old select festival we actually had
some kids on our team committed to schools for a
year or two down the road, but we had a great
tournament and ended up losing to the powerhouse of
Michigan in the finals.

I think that made the Satellite program so special for me was the way
I was treated from the age of 13 to the age of 17 by
the coaching staff of the MASTP, the relationships I
was able to form with all of my coaches like Mark
and Mike Bavis, Tom Mutch, Jaime Rice,
Gene Reilly, Mike Boyle, Bob Richardson Ernie
Butler, and plenty of others is a very special
thing. These coaches always treated players like
myself and others starting at a young age as if we
were already apart of a Division 1 or Professional
Program and it made for an easy transition when I
came to the University of New Hampshire. I was used
to being in a hotel with my teammates and not
running around getting into trouble.

Finally I think
the one thing that is stressed the most MASTP that
is extremely important is the value of your parents.
Without them none of us would have been able to
travel to Vancouver, Vermont, Michigan, or
Minnesota. They are the ones who sacrifice their
time, their money, friendships and time at the beach
to drive us back and forth from BU and Walpole, or
drive halfway across the country to watch us play.

The people at the MASTP make it a point for each
player to let their parents know that you don’t take
all they do for you for granted and to thank them
daily.