Although hockey isn’t particularly a popular sport here at Fossil Ridge, or in the Fort Collins area in general, there are a few very skilled players walking the halls of Fossil; One of those talented players is sophomore Makai Mitchell.  

He has been playing the game for about nine years, and currently plays for the U16 Rocky Mountain Roughriders in Superior, Colorado. He doesn’t play for Fossil as of right now, but in the spring, when the High Plains League starts, he’ll most likely play for the school. Along with hockey, Mitchell also enjoys playing lacrosse or just taking it easy when he doesn’t have practice.

He has a twin sister, and mentioned that his mother and grandmother both play very big roles in his life, supporting him day-in and day-out. “My entire family shows me a truly amazing amount of support, my dream is to play pro hockey, and they all want to help me achieve that. It is very expensive to play hockey, and I wouldn’t be able to play the game I love or go to the places I want to go without them, so I am really thankful for everything that they do for me.”

After graduating from Fossil Ridge, Mitchell hopes to play for Michigan State University. “I want to go there because it would lead me to a lot of greater things in life other than just hockey. It would give me the opportunity to meet new people and find new friends. Everyone says college is the best time of your life, so I’m really looking forward to that.”

Over the course of the last year, Mitchell and his team have had a couple of very big months. After winning regionals, the team traveled to nationals, and also attended the largest Bantam tournament in Canada called the John Reid. This year, he will be traveling with his team a lot, roughly 1-2 times a month. “All of the traveling adds up quickly and I always have a lot of makeup work which is difficult, but I wouldn’t want my life to be any different.”

Mitchell stated that he probably has hundreds of funny stories from games and out-of-state tournaments, but one specific story had him laughing goofily, “When I was younger I was going to my tryouts and as my mom was pulling the car out of the garage, and she literally had ran over my hockey bag and crushed my helmet. I had to go to tryouts with my helmet all messed up and my cage was barely covering my face. I got on the ice and my coaches thought it was hilarious and so did I, so all in all it was a pretty funny experience.”

During the interview Mitchell was asked about the advice he has gotten from different people in his life, and he said that the best piece of advice he has ever received was from his coach a few years ago, “He said, ‘There are three things you can control in life, and those are your work ethic, your attitude, and the choices you make.’ and ever since he said that to me it has helped in hockey, school, and in life in general.”

Make sure to wish Mitchell luck in his season! If you want to stay updated on athletics at Fossil RIdge, follow @frhssportsnews on Twitter!