Geneseo Ice Knight Devin McDonald (pictured above) has been influenced by hockey since a young age. Despite the time commitment to play the sport, McDonald has managed to stay on top of his academic and social life (courtesy of Devin McDonald).
Business administration major senior Devin McDonald is a goalie for the Ice Knights hockey team. With his extreme talent and his established priorities, McDonald demonstrates his capabilities as he is able to balance both being an athlete and a full-time student.
McDonald grew up playing hockey on different youth teams and he grew stronger through the setbacks he encountered. His childhood and his father’s continuous inspiration encouraged him to keep playing.
“[My father inspires me to keep playing] because he always pushed me when I was younger. I never really had a good route to work out, I always got cut, I always didn’t get put on the team I wanted to play on,” McDonald said. “He just kind of let me keep going and pushed me to keep playing, and eventually I got a shot when I was older and just kind of kept growing with it, and then got a couple other lucky bounces and then ended up here in Geneseo.”
Over time, McDonald has established his priorities, especially in regard to his time management skills between hockey, academics and a social life.
“You have to know when to have a social life and when to know you have to be at your sport on time,” McDonald said. “Being on the road for weekends, and most of your days are taken by games … you have to learn time management.”
With his father’s continued support as well as the benefits of attending Geneseo, McDonald feels content with his current direction. The school’s academically oriented environment—as well as the talented coaches—have helped foster McDonald’s growth as a student athlete.
“I feel we’re a pretty successful program here. Everyone knows that overall every sport does pretty well here, and the fact that you get to go to a good school at the same time helps,” McDonald said. “We have good facilities, good coaches, good everything. I don’t think I would really change anything over the past four years.”
Especially with his various childhood athletic experiences, McDonald offers advice to adolescents who are interested in playing collegiate sports.
“It’s really busy going from high school for most kids. You know you don’t have as much schoolwork and practices maybe aren’t as serious so it’s the next level in both, in athletics and academics,” McDonald said. “Know you’re going to enjoy the experience, but it’s definitely going to push you.”