Growing Up In Cheboygan
12/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Jared Nightingale
When I was growing up in Cheboygan, Mich., I never imagined that I would end up here at Michigan State, playing Division I hockey. My brothers Jason, who played at Lake Superior, Adam, who played here at MSU with me, and I have come a long way since our days in the youth leagues of Cheboygan.
When we were kids we were never able to play more than three months out of the year because in our town the local rink was an outdoor surface. If we were fortunate and got the right weather we were able to complete a full season. It has turned into a running joke for me; I like to tell people that I have grown up playing outdoors. In all honesty, I didn't have things too bad. I had only been playing hockey for three years when our town finally built an indoor facility. Jason and Adam had it much worse; Jason played at the outdoor rink until he was a bantam, while Adam skated there up until his first pee-wee season.
As a result, hockey wasn't just a seasonal sport in our neighborhood. When people ask us about our early playing days most of the stories, and there are too many to count, involve us playing during the summer months. The three of us, and a few of our neighbors from down the street, were constantly in the driveway or the basement playing. Those games had every bit of the intensity you would find in any Michigan State-Michigan game.
Looking back, it would be hard to call what we played hockey because it was always the same old story. Adam used to run the goalie, our neighbor, all the time. Once that happened Jason would tackle me into Adam and the basement would erupt into a backyard brawl. The funny part was that eventually, the three of us would end up teaming up against our neighbor, luckily for him he had all the goalie equipment on. In retrospect, maybe I should have spent a little more time working on my stick-handling and a little less time on all those haymakers.
Hockey took on a much more serious roll in the lives of my brothers and me, once Cheboygan built that indoor arena. The interest from all three of us really shot through the roof. We started playing more games during the season and attending hockey schools in the summer, including one here at Michigan State.
I remember when my oldest brother Jason decided to leave Cheboygan and play for a team an hour north in Sault Ste. Marie. Our family, along with one other family in town, used to take turns driving back and fourth from games four or five times a week, seven months out of the year to see him play. That is when Adam and I decided we wanted to make the same dedicated sacrifices to keep playing the game we loved. A year later Jason moved again to play for the Soo Hawks, a midget AAA team, and Adam moved even further away to play for a team in Marquette.
Whenever I would travel to watch my brothers play, we would stop and watch the local college teams play. I remember watching LSSU games, back in their glory days, and Northern Michigan when coach Comley and the Wildcats used to play at the old Lakeview Arena. The atmosphere at both of those schools was unreal. I was really lucky to see all those great teams and players and it really sparked my desire to play college hockey.
I knew that I would have to follow the lead of my brothers if I wanted to make it to the college level, so I joined Jason's old AAA midget team. After two seasons I made the jump to the Soo Indians junior hockey club. We had a successful team that year and a really great coach, I was fortunate to draw interest from some Division I programs.
I chose to attend Michigan State and it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I was able to play three seasons with my brother Adam here in East Lansing and I have formed so many more strong relationships since I've been here. It just goes to show how much support our hockey team gets from the local community. The students, the fans and the alumni make this a real special place to play college hockey.
Without their support and without the support of my parents and my brothers I never could have gotten to where I am today. I have learned so much from Jason and Adam on and off the ice. They are both great character people and have helped so much to pave the way for me in life. I know that all came from our parents, who always taught us what was really important in life; it was never about what team we played for or how many points we scored.
Every time I take the ice I think of my parents and my brothers who have done so much for me. I think about where I was 10 years ago, on a small outdoor rink in Cheboygan trying to live up to the reputations of my brothers. A lot of things have changed in my life since then, but that is one thing that never will.
