Maple Honored by Hometown High School

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In what he called one of the highest honors of his young career, Dogwood Maple was notified last night that his high school would be retiring his hockey jersey.  Dogwood attended Midtown High School in Atlanta, Georgia and helped turn a struggling hockey program into one of the perennial powers in the nation.  He led the Knights to two region titles, one State runner-up, and one State Championship.  He averaged more than two points per game in his final two seasons and was voted as the most outstanding player in the state both of those seasons.

 

"You know, I've been fortunate to receive some honors and awards in my career, but I'm not sure that any of them come close to getting my jersey retired and to see it hanging from the rafters at Stephenson Arena.  This place had such an impact not only on my hockey career, but my life.  It's honestly one of my favorite places in the entire world and it's so incredibly special to be honored in that way. 

 

The jersey isn't the only honor that Midtown High School has recently bestowed upon their favorite son.  The locker room has a plaque denoting the location of Maple's locker during his tenure.  To some, he's somewhat of a mythical figure in the history of Midtown hockey.

 

"I mean, it's Maple, y'know?" said sophomore defenseman Andrew Sturgis.  "He put us on the map and has been lighting it up in the professional ranks ever since.  It's just crazy that this is where he played and this was his locker.  He even bought us all brand new tablets. Can you believe that? We were totally in shock...I thought he was just coming to take some pictures or something and he rolls up with all these shopping bags with tablets for the entire team and trainers and coaches and everything. Wild."

Dogwood's former coach, Daniel Orange, was also effusive with praise for his former player.  

 

"I don't think anybody's earned this as much as he has.  We don't retire numbers all the time here.  This is reserved for players who have had an incredible impact on our program.  An impact that will last through the years...and that's definitely the situation with Dogwood.  He was a joy to coach and I'm not surprised at all to see him do well at the next level.  He was always willing to work and never once sat back and rested on his laurels.  I'm just so proud to see where he's at right now and it means so much to our players and our program to have someone like him to be a role model for these kids.  But I might need him to help me figure out this tablet.  I only recently got a smart phone so I'm going to make him help out this old man."

 

After the ceremony where the jersey was raised to the rafters, Maple gave a short speech and really emphasized how much hard work goes into receiving an honor like this and how important it is to remember your roots.

"All the sweat, blood, and tears that I put into this arena all those years ago were definitely worth it.  If you want to be great, you have to work harder than you ever possibly imagine.  But to see my jersey up there? That makes all those hard practices, workouts, and the entire grind all worth it."

 

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[Shindigs 1,771]

Good read as always, let's hope Dogwood can have a similar impact in Vegas this season!