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04/04/2023 10:44 AMBeing a young player on any organized team can come with challenges in regardsto transitioning and defining your role. For freshman defender Tayte DePetris, she needed very little time to adapt to the high school hockey life as she contributed significantly to a young Guilford girls’ ice hockey team in her first season this winter.
Tayte, who is also a member of the Shoreline Sharks and used to play lacrosse and soccer, was around the sport of hockey quite a bit growing up as she watched her older sister play and became familiar with the rules and logistics of the game.
“My sister started before me when she was a little bit older. For hockey players, we both started a little bit later than usual,” says Tayte. “She inspired me to do it, I would go to all of her games and watch her play, and it made me want to do it.”
One thing that served Tayte well this winter was her flexibility and willingness to play a new position. There was a transition period involved and adjustments that Tayte needed to make with her playing style, but she took it in stride each day.
“It was good, I was going in first year to a new co-op, a new experience for everyone. I felt like everyone was in the same boat with how new it was,” says Tayte. “This year switching my position, it was what the team needed, and I was happy to provide them with what would help us win the most.”
Grizzlies Head Coach Rick Binkowski saw a lot of drive and determination in Tayte when she agreed, without hesitation, to take on that task of filling new shoes than she had previously been in and was impressed with the way she handled it with ease.
“She did great, she is a freshman and also primarily played forward before joining our team,” says Binkowski. “We needed two other players that needed to step up on defense and Tayte was one of those kids. She was happy to do it. Defense is a pretty important position with the way that I coach, and she is a strong player and kid. She is a very good athlete and has a great attitude. Tayte is certainly that kid, she is coachable, works hard, and has a good foundation in hockey skills. It is a struggle being a freshman anyways and to put on top of that, the pressure of playing defense. We would not have asked her to do it if we did not think that she could. You get varying degrees of maturity at the freshman level, and Tayte certainly stepped up this year and did a fantastic job.”
Tayte also credits her captain Kim Evans for helping her with that transition and ensuring that everything went smoothly for her as she settled into her new role within the squad, and she gained confidence in herself and her abilities along the way.
“It was a good confidence booster to go into the season making an impact because of my position,” says Tayte. “Being there and being able to stop the goals was definitely nice, it was good to just feel good out there as a freshman.”
Tayte’s sister was her role model in terms of team morale and keeping everything light and positive. Whenever there were disagreements among players in the locker room, Tayte would be there to crack jokes and lighten the mood, something that kept her team on track.
After the freshman campaign that she put together, Binkowski hopes to see Tayte continue to get better as she moves through her career on the ice, and hopes her confidence continues to sky rocket.
“I am definitely looking for her to keep her confidence high. She is a strong kid, a strong athlete, and has real potential to be a dominant hockey player as she continues her career,” says Binkowski. “As long as she stays positive and keeps a good attitude, keeps working for that, she will be very successful. I am very impressed; the entire coaching staff is very impressed with her performance this year.”
Tayte looks forward to stepping into more of a leadership role within the ranks of the Grizzlies and help motivate them to want to win and be successful.
“The leadership role is going to be an interesting spot to fill, and I am excited to be a motivator for the team. We have an amazing coaching staff, Coach Chelsea came in and there was a relatable aspect of having a female athlete,” says Tayte. “She was a great and huge part of the team, very dedicated, and she always showed her love and support to us.”