Benjamin Friend
Canada/UK
Hockey
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Biography
Hi, welcome to my MAKEACHAMP campaign page and thank you very much for taking the time to check it out!
Here is a short biography of my career, up to this date, so you can find out a bit more about me. If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to contact me.
As a young boy, I grew up in Petersfield, UK. I played many sports through my youth, including football (soccer), cricket and rugby. However, I did not start playing hockey until I was 14. I joined Solent & Gosport Ice Hockey Club and played for the under 14, 16 and 18 teams over the next 4-5 years.
Meanwhile, I got my GCSE's and A levels at The Petersfield School and Alton College, respectively.
In 2014, I faced the decision of either ending my competitive hockey career or having to move abroad to continue it.
So at age 18, I moved to Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada, to continue playing hockey, where I spent my season playing for the Niagara Whalers of the GMHL and the following summer training in South Ontario.
I then played another season for Almaguin Spartans, again in the GMHL, where we made a run all the way to the finals.
Unfortunately, I had mixed success in my 2 seasons as I had limited ice time and several injuries. I made the decision that I needed to increase my skill levels to reach my goals of playing professional hockey and with no teams interested in me, I took a year away from competitive hockey. A gamble, but one I had to take.
I have been, and will continue to, live in Brantford, Ontario, Canada where I have access to a training centre. I now spend roughly 4 hours on-ice a day training, and many more working on off-ice fitness and the mental side of the game.
Ultimately, my dream is to play professional hockey and I am doing everything I can to make this come true.
To help me to achieve this, my plan is to train throughout the 2017 offseason, and then next year make a jump back into competitive hockey at the semi-pro/minor pro level in either Sweden, Finland, Germany or the UK.