With the help of many, the Silvertips hit the books

EVERETT — The Western Hockey League announced Friday that a record 337 former players are using full WHL scholarships for post-secondary education this fall.

The league’s 22-year-old scholarship program grants a full year of tuition and books for each year played in the WHL.

Prior to 1993, such scholarships were administered by the individual teams. The organizations determined who got the scholarships as well as how much each player received.

The league decided a more uniform approach was needed.

“It was time to come to an understanding on a scholarship program for the benefit of all players — No. 1 to make sure all players were treated in the same manner, and No. 2 to have a plan in place to fund it,” WHL commissioner Ron Robison said this week. “The clubs have not only met those obligations, but those obligations have continued to grow because the level of players activating those scholarships is significantly higher than it was initially.”

Since 1993, more than 5,000 WHL players have taken advantage of the program.

While the league’s scholarship program garners most of the attention, the seeds of the WHL’s academic success are planted much earlier and are partly due to the diligent work of team education coordinators such as Darren Parsons of Lake Stevens.

A native of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, who played for Regina and Brandon from 1986-89, Parsons is a throwback to the time before the WHL mandated teams provide the same education opportunities to every player.

“When I was playing, we really didn’t have anybody to monitor (our progress),” said Parsons, who teaches at Lake Stevens Middle School and serves as the Silvertips’ academic coordinator. “I didn’t have anyone oversee me and I felt like I needed to come full circle and work with the kids.”

Last season, the Silvertips had 87 percent of their players in the classroom. That includes the younger players who take advanced placement and other math and science classes at Everett High School, as well as high school graduates such as 19-year-old Tristen Pfeifer, who is in his second year of classes through Grand Canyon University in his native Phoenix, Arizona.

“We want educated hockey players,” Everett general manager Garry Davidson said. “I think if you had a son and were sending him to our program, there would be a handful of things that would be important for you to want your son to come and play here and I think education would probably be one that is right at the top of the list.”

Two seasons ago the WHL achieved a 100 percent high school graduation rate league-wide for the first time, Parsons said. That outpaces the rate at American and Canadian high schools, with various studies placing the rate between 80 and 90 percent.

A daily grind

Some players, such as Pfeifer and assistant coach and former Tips player Brennan Sonne, graduated from high school before they broke into the WHL. For others, the academic process starts before they arrive in Everett — some as young as 14 or 15 when they are selected in the WHL bantam draft.

The younger players immediately begin a top-heavy schedule in grades 9-10 in their hometowns — eight or nine periods per day plus summer school — in anticipation of the move they will undertake should they make the Tips roster as a 16-year-old rookie.

For Canadian players, those classes often include upper-level Canadian social studies and religion classes that aren’t available in the United States. Each WHL team has a host high school, with Everett serving that role for the Silvertips. The classes a player takes in Everett eventually transfer back to his hometown school, the institution that grants the diploma.

Once at Everett High School, the players typically attend three periods a day before heading to the arena around noon. Players usually take math, English and science classes during first semester with the intention of heading back to their hometown schools when the season ends in the spring.

“Second semester is really tricky because they’re going to go back home two and a half months into the semester,” Parsons said. “I have to make sure to line up all of their classes and work with their home schools so when they go back home, they’re just going to slide right into that class.”

The travel and practice schedule can be arduous, particularly for kids who are the same age as high school juniors and seniors. The Silvertips provide tutoring at least twice a week and hold study sessions both at home and on the road. Days that begin with school at 8:30 a.m. might last until after 9 p.m. when practice, dry land training, study sessions and film sessions conclude.

“There are lots of long days,” said forward Matt Fonteyne, who graduated from high school last year and was the team’s 2013-14 Silvertips Scholastic Player of the Year. “The team is really good with getting the help you need and everything. On road trips, you just need to bring your homework or do the work ahead of time so you’re not behind when you come back.”

Six current Tips attend Everett High School: 16-year-olds Jake Christiansen, Connor Dewar, Brian King and Riley Sutter, and 17-year-olds Spencer Gerth and Carter Hart. Kennewick native Sean Mallonee does his schoolwork online through Internet Academy.

Sutter, whose surname is synonymous with the WHL and NHL, takes English, biology and math at Everett High School. He appreciates the help provided by the organization and followed the advice his older cousins gave him about academic survival in the WHL.

“It’s just adjusting to being away from home and getting used to the schooling because it’s quite a bit different,” Sutter said. “(My cousins) gave me info on what they did and what to expect. I soaked that all in and now I’m realizing what I have to do to keep up with school and staying on pace with the team.”

Sutter is planning a summer school session in 2016. It isn’t the way players want to spend their summer, but it’s the academic price they pay to reap athletic rewards.

Sonne the supervisor

Sonne is the de facto leader of the academic side on the coaching staff. In addition to working with the younger players on their time management and academic adjustment, Sonne helps the older players when they transition out of the league to a college or university.

“I also feel comfortable dealing and talking with and discussing different schools with recruiters and players trying to help them transition from being a 19- or 20-year-old into a university player,” said Sonne, who used his WHL scholarship to attend the University of British Columbia.

“I try to use that experience to show my empathy and support and give advice in terms of time management to the high school players.”

Canadian universities allow players to play intercollegiate hockey once their WHL eligibility is exhausted. However, signing with a WHL team forfeits a player’s NCAA eligibility, which can be a sticking point for many — particularly American-born players such as Pfeifer.

“It took me a while to make (my decision), but I’m really happy I came here,” Pfeifer said. “I think the type of player I am thrives in this league and I think the education part of this league is something a lot of people don’t know about. They don’t know that you can take classes for free.”

The WHL’s academic program also requires teams to cover the cost for players who take post-secondary classes while still playing in the league. Pfeifer took a full course load online last year through Grand Canyon and is a sophomore credit-wise — the same as if he were a traditional on-campus student.

Remi Laurencelle and Graham Millar are taking classes through Alberta’s Athabasca University, while Brandon Ralph is working on meeting the engineering requirements at the University of Alberta.

“We want them to achieve what they want to do and school is a big part of that,” Sonne said. “Not everyone goes on to play in the NHL. If they go on to great things in school and in society, we’re going to be really happy.”

Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.

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