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Wharton alum heads for hockey, college

Discovering junior hockey helps Connor Lyons, who graduated in 2003, realize his boyhood dream.

By EMILY NIPPS
Published May 29, 2005

HUNTER'S GREEN - Ever since Connor Lyons was the little boy on a pee-wee team, he dreamed of playing ice hockey in college. No one had the heart to tell him how difficult it would be to get that far, especially for a child born and raised in Florida.

By the time Lyons was a teenager, he realized how little recognition Florida kids got from college ice hockey scouts. He also came to terms with his size - the 2003 Wharton grad never grew much taller than 5 feet 5.

But excellent speed and skating skills, not to mention two years of ice time with the Cincinnati Cobras junior hockey team, helped Lyons finally reach that far-fetched goal. The 20-year-old forward recently signed a letter of intent to play for Nichols College, a school just outside Boston that has a Division III team.

"I always knew I'd go back to school," Lyons said. "I just didn't know how and when. I figured I'd even walk on somewhere if I had to."

Opting to play junior hockey instead of going straight to college seemed like a huge risk to Lyons' parents at the time. But now Lyons' parents, who live in Hunter's Green, actually wish they had heard about junior hockey sooner.

"I was really concerned about him not going to college, and I was really afraid this could change his whole path in life," said Bob Lyons. "Had I known about junior hockey earlier, we might have sent him when he was younger."

In Northern states and Canada, it is not uncommon for players to join junior hockey teams when they are as young as 16 and no older than 20. High school graduates often use the junior hockey experience to prepare for the college and professional levels.

No one can blame Lyons' father for knowing nothing about options for young hockey players. After coaching Connor in T-ball, basketball and anything else he could get the boy to try, he noticed his son had more fun knocking around tennis balls with a broomstick in the street. He finally signed Connor up for roller hockey.

"I think he went out and found the one sport I couldn't coach him in," Bob Lyons said.

Connor Lyons was hooked but wanted to take the next step when the Brandon Ice Sports Forum opened.

"Roller hockey wasn't as fast paced," he said. "It was kind of an adjustment learning to play on ice."

Lyons was thrilled when Wharton formed an ice hockey club team during his junior year and he was named team captain his senior year, when Wharton won the Hillsborough County Championship.

Lyons also played for the Ellenton Eels travel team as a senior, and during his last season he was approached by a couple of junior hockey coaches who liked his aggressiveness, speed and physique. Lyons made the cut for the Cobras and moved to Ohio to live with a host family.

After playing 50-plus game seasons in junior hockey, Lyons looks forward to a shorter season and a more structured style of hockey. He also plans to study sports nutrition and business.

Then there is that next far-fetched goal.

"I'd love to play in the pros," Lyons said. "Being 5-foot-5, it would be tough. But it could happen."

Emily Nipps can be reached at 269-5313 or nipps@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 29, 2005, 01:05:19]