Athlete Has High Hopes for Hockey Future
For most, dropping everything and moving across the country to play hockey can be a difficult life decision. For T.j Sneath, hockey is more than just a sport, it is his whole life.
Born and raised in Chino, California, Sneath developed a love for hockey because of his father, Terry who was, according to Sneath, a diehard Red Wings fan.
Ever since Sneath could walk, he began to learn to skate. Hockey became a norm in the Sneath household.
“I started playing at the age of two and a half and from then on I started to play in travel teams from age four to fifteen in California before I moved away to play juniors,” Sneath said.
Before coming to Oswego, Sneath played for three different junior leagues, including the Hampton Road Whalers USPHL. Sneath led the team with 42 goals and 51 assists during his time with the Whalers.
“I’ve seen two different countries, many different states, and a lot of different cultures and I think it rounds you better as a person coming into college hockey,” Sneath said. “Juniors is a fantasy land for hockey players.”
After hearing about Oswego’s DIII men’s ice hockey team, Sneath knew he wanted to continue his career with the Lakers.
“I want to play professionally and looking at Oswego, I noticed they have a great track record of moving guys on to play high levels of professional hockey,” Sneath said.
Sneath also pointed out that he was attracted to Oswego’s high level DIII facility for hockey, the community support and fanbase, and the overall atmosphere of Oswego.
For Sneath, the decision to pack his bags and move from California to New York seemed easy.
“I decided I wanted to go to Oswego before coach Gosek even knew I existed,” Sneath said. “I had my general manager in juniors send him a highlight video.”
After receiving the video, men’s hockey head coach Ed Gosek decided to look into adding Sneath to the 2015–2016 roster.
“We had some people that we trust in our program that were able to watch him play live,” Gosek said. “With the large class that we were trying to replace, he really fit what we were looking for.”
Sneath pointed out that he is very focused on his own personal growth with the Lakers. Spending the entire summer training and practicing, Sneath makes the best of his pre-season.
According to Gosek, Sneath has a particular set of skills that he uses to his advantage on the ice, which contributed to his success as a Laker.
“He’s grown as a player because he’s been able to adapt to the speed of the game and playing at a quicker pace and he’s been able to make himself stronger from freshman to sophomore year,” Gosek said. “As far as seeing the game, hockey sense, and hockey IQ, I think he’s made vast improvements in those areas.”
Sneath is constantly looking for ways to improve on the ice and according to his teammates, is very generous with the puck.
“Rather than taking the shot he’s the kind of guy that sets up his teammates,” said Cedric Hansen, freshman goalie for Oswego State. “As a player, he’s definitely a playmaker.”
So far in his career as a Laker, Sneath has registered nine points, four of which are goals, in 27 games played.
“I’m an offensive guy that can provide secondary scoring,” Sneath said. “Being on the ice is definitely a feeling that can make your knees go weak at some times.”
Now that the Lakers have entered post-season, Sneath is starting to get his head into preparing for his next year with Oswego State.
For Sneath, there are no real breaks when it comes to his commitment to the sport that he loves.
“Playing hockey is my whole life and it’s everything I’ve ever known,” Sneath said. “I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I wasn’t getting up every morning at 6 a.m. in the summer and going to train.”
As for his future with the Lakers, Sneath plans on making the most of his final two seasons.
“It has been ingrained in me so I’m kind of scared to see what life is going to be like after hockey but hopefully I get to wait a little bit longer to find that out,” Sneath said.
