Claimed: Jake Scheel Biography

[MD9 139]

Gambing When it Counts

Biography of Jake Scheel, from Childhood to the VHLM

 

Jake Scheel posing in a VHLM Jersey

 

Childhood

 

Jake Scheel was born as the youngest child in a small, middle class family in Augusta, Maine. A relatively small city at just over 18,000 residents, Scheel was able to enjoy a relatively peaceful upbringing. A fairly nice city, perched comfortably next to the Kennebec River, with access to decent, if not exceptional public schools, libraries, all of the amenities a child should expect to receive. Maine itself is known as one of the nicer New England states, sometimes likened to its neighbouring Canadian province of New Brunswick. The state has a lot to boast about on travel brochures and television advertisements.

 

Perhaps unsurprising given its cold winters (and perhaps its proximity to Canada), hockey isn’t altogether uncommon sport in Maine. Augusta may not be the hockey capital of the United States, or even the state, which is dominated more by the larger city of Portland, but it has produced some quality professional players in the past -- albeit, mostly in ‘C’ or ‘B’ level leagues. Jake Scheel got his start in hockey at a young age, beginning at about six years old. Although his family was middle class, hockey equipment was already well into its shocking inflation in price by the time he was ready to lace up the skates, so his family had to rely on second-hand equipment purchases. As neither of his older siblings played hockey, he couldn’t even rely on that.

 

Hockey was intertwined intricately into Scheel’s life: it’s almost impossible to remove it from any biography of him. He was an okay student throughout elementary school, but he always had his eye on the window, just waiting for the bell to ring so that he could go outside, go home - do something other than schooling. But he was sharp, and with the right motivation, his parents and teachers alike recognized that he could excel. In order to push him towards keeping his grades up, remembering his multiplication tables and practicing his handwriting -- all of those elementary concerns -- his parents wagered his love of hockey. He could play so long as he attended to his studies.

 

So, he became a diligent student throughout the week, if only to protect his weekend love of getting out on the ice for the next game.

 

High School

The high school where Jake Scheel studied and played hockey.

 

The connection between Scheel’s studies and his burgeoning hockey career continued as he entered high school. It was quickly becoming apparent that he was very good at the game, and the school wanted him for their team. He was happy to join them, going on to wear the ‘A’ for them in his junior year. In order to keep his place on the team, of course, he had to keep his grades up. Even in a school that placed value on athletics, academia had to come first. Almost nobody playing high school sports can go on to make a living off of the sport they’re playing, and so it’s expected.

 

In the classroom, Scheel remained a solid student, eventually discovering a love of writing. At this point in his life, he recognized that playing in the VHL was still a distant dream, and one he had to be realistic about. Certainly, he trained hard with the hopes that he might one day make it, but he also studied carefully to ensure he would be able to find a career after school, or perhaps gain entry into college. Keeping all of the doors open for his own sake. If his professional hockey aspirations didn’t come true, he hoped to parlay his increasing affinity for the written word into a career as a sports journalist. Perhaps not the most realistic of occupations to chase after, but if you love the game -- you want to make sure that one way or another, you’re going to be close to it.

 

Some people say that in high school, you meet some of your closest friends. At least, they say that until you go to college and meet even closer friends. Scheel, at least, found it easy to make friends. He was on the team hockey team, after all. He might not have been a football player, but that has to count for something. He also followed the great American tradition of falling for a girl at a young age, working up the courage to talk to her in high school, and dating her even after graduation. If he wasn’t planning on making a career out of hockey, he might well have been able to write his life up for a silly feel-good family flick.  Even if the ending hadn’t been written yet.

 

College

 

It was in Scheel’s first year of college, training to be a journalist for real now, that his hockey skills really took hold. He wasn’t the best skater, the best shooter, the best anything. But what he did have was incredible hockey IQ. In his first year in college, he played for his school’s team, going on to lead the team in assists, plus/minus and takeaways, even as he played against older and more experienced players. All while putting in the effort to get his assignments in on time, showing up to every class, and eventually working a job on free evenings to help pay his residence fees.

 

As was the story for most of his life, he was doing well both on the ice and in the classroom. He had all his bases covered: maybe he would make a career out of hockey, maybe he would make a career out of writing. But as the cliche goes, it’s your college years that you’re really meant to ‘find yourself’ in. That may not hold true for everyone, but it did for him. After his first year in college was over, he came to a fork in the road. He loved writing and he even came to love school, but he loved hockey more. That was his true passion -- what he wanted to do with his life. Even if he managed to cover hockey as a journalist, he would be close to it… but it wouldn’t be him doing it.

 

He realized then that it was time to take a gamble. Perhaps the first real gamble he ever took, in a lifetime of playing it safe and keeping all his options on the table. He left college.

 

The Decision

 

A promotional picture for Scheel, declared for the upcoming VHL draft.

 

No one will ever advise a young man to drop out of college. Even fewer people will advise someone to drop out of college to pursue athletics. College sports is more than enough to get the attention of scouts: there have been plenty of good players coming out of universities for years and years, often with a reputation for being more experienced and mature players by the end of it. But the top players in most drafts, the top players on most scouting reports -- they come from junior hockey.

 

Leaving college was something that outraged Scheel’s parents, concerned his siblings, and even caused a sleepless night or two for his girlfriend that worried that maybe, just maybe, he had made the worst decision of his life. But it was now or never: he wasn’t getting any younger, and in a year or two, he would be too old to play junior hockey. If he didn’t make a splash now, he would be forgotten.

 

He declared himself eligible for the VHLM, You can’t be rewarded if you don’t take risks, and although it might turn out horribly for him -- there’ll always be time to go back to college to earn that degree. The time to make a name for himself on the ice is now, and it’s slipping away with each passing day.

[hedgehog337 3,483]

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