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AAA Midget and City Midget in Central Plains . They made the decision to import another goaltender and he lost his opportunity to play . His choice was to take the year off and train with a coach or play at a very low level of hockey and not do anything to improve . He chose to spend the year training . Fact is , if he ’ d played at a low level , he would have picked up bad habits and never have been heard from again .”
At the time , the tall , chubby goaltender decided to get into shape and learn to play the game at a higher level . A typical week during the 2016-17 season was not a typical week for any other Canadian kid hoping to make something out of hockey .
Three times a week , he ’ d get up at 5 a . m . and go to boxing training with former U of M and minor pro goalie Brent Zelenewich . His mom , Michelle , was his partner in the ring . As a result , Cole lost 30 pounds and “ got faster and better .”
Five days a week , he would go to school at St . Paul ’ s and then head straight to the IceLab at the Bell MTS Iceplex and work out for an hour with former UND and minor pro goalie Andy Kollar . He also met once a week with a nutritionist and then once a week he would partake in sport specific yoga for hockey goalies . He also worked out at home and his dad said , not only did he go from 255 to 225 pounds , he got faster , quicker and more flexible .
“ Cole is faster than ever now ,” said Tim . “ During the summer , he was being recruited , not only by Yale , but also by Pursuit of Excellence and Shawnigan . A lot of credit goes to Andy and his
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COLE MUYS STARTED
PLAYING WHEN HE WAS
EIGHT YEARS OLD
other coach Eli Wilson who worked with Cole over the season . In fact , one of the reasons Cole chose Yale is because it ’ s in Abbotsford and Eli lives in Abbotsford .”
Cole has never been your average hockey player . He wasn ’ t one of those kids who laced on the blades at three and started Timbits at four .
“ I started playing when I was eight-years-old ,” he explained . “ During the 2009 NHL playoffs my family was watching more intently than usual . Soon after the playoffs were over I switched from soccer to hockey . My brother and I had bodies that were clearly better suited for hockey than soccer .
“ I ’ ve always loved hockey , but I have been through some tough moments in my game : Mostly getting
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cut from a team or having a couple of bad games .
After a great year in AAA Bantam with Central Plains I had a really negative experience during midget tryouts in the fall . Before tryouts even began , I was contemplating taking a year off to focus on training . The way tryouts unfolded made my decision an easy one and actually made me want to work even harder . Eli Wilson had already been in touch with me before tryouts which also made it an easy decision . I know for sure that I wouldn ’ t be where I am today if I played my first year in midget .”
For Muys , taking that year off was the right decision . Now , he has an opportunity to get something back from a game he ’ s worked so hard to become a part of .
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“ Yeah , I ’ d like to take my game as far as I can ,” Cole said . “ It would be a tremendous experience to be able to play at the pro level , but in the meantime , my plan is to play this year at Yale and then go on to play in the WHL or Junior A . Hopefully I ’ ll work hard enough and play well enough to get drafted to a pro team .”
Through all of his ups and downs – and all those big decisions – his parents , Tim and Michelle , have been right by his side .
“ My parents have always kept hockey fun for me ,” he said . “ My dad has always known where the best camps have been and they ’ ve never spared any expense or time to help me go further . I owe it all to them .” ❍
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124 | GAME ON | NOVEMBER 2017 |