Zooming across the ice, James Wang (11) advances towards the goal, maneuvering the puck around the opposing defenders. He aligns his stick and strikes the puck. It soars through the air and bounces off of the net. He scores a goal.
Wang’s love for hockey started in middle school when he was introduced to ice skating. He knew how to roller skate since the second grade, but he wanted to try something new.
“When I was going into middle school I had the option of skating in the summer to learn how to ice skate,” Wang said. “I learned how to roller skate previously and I never tried ice before so I took the opportunity … The first time I got to the rink I saw people playing hockey so that pushed me to start.”
Inspired by experienced players, James began to learn to play hockey, but faced some challenges to overcome along the way. On top of having to learn skills unique to hockey, James also faced difficulties with the limited amount of hockey resources in Memphis.
“I could probably say it was [discouraging] seeing other people, like really experienced, that were probably on the ice five times a week but I could only muster about two,” Wang said. “…They were way more skillful and they had way more resources and I was a late bloomer, like I started in 6th grade and [by] middle school was catching on. There were some things I jump started like skating but there were certain things like goal scoring [that were difficult].”
Despite the challenges Wang faces being a hockey player in the midsouth, he never gives up on his dream of becoming a professional hockey player.
“I practice on my own and I aim to go to prep school [in the future],” Wang said.
Although there are only a few people involved in hockey in Memphis, Wang is not alone in his journey to play professionally. Konnor Wilder, whom Wang played hockey with, now plays hockey professionally in Canada.
“I met James at a learn-to-play hockey club,” Wilder said. “I just went to a lot of hockey camps all over the U.S. and Canada and I picked the best opportunity for me.”
Besides sliding around on ice, Wang’s favorite part of hockey is the social aspect. Since hockey is such a niche sport, he gets to meet people who have similar interests as him.
“To me, it helps me meet more people that share a common thing,” Wang said. “Since hockey is really small, you can meet someone entirely new and common to you.”
