Claimed:Jerrick Poole: The Biography

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Jerrick Poole: The Biography

 

Jerrick Poole was born in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Michael and Mother.  His parents were both Massachusetts natives and met as athletes for the Boston University Terriers.  His father played hockey at BU where he was an every-game player as a junior and senior.  Much like Jerrick, Michael Poole was a stay at home defenseman who used his size to his advantage on the ice.  But, Michael has noted that Jerrick is an overall more skilled player than he was and a significantly better skater which surely has helped him become a key player for the Boston Jr. Bruins and enable him to pursue hockey as a career.  Jerrick’s mother actually played basketball at Boston University and at 6’2”, it came as no surprise that Jerrick would quickly tower over his peers.

 

Jerrick's father, Michael, played college hockey at Boston University

 

Jerrick’s father naturally introduced him to hockey at a very young age but surprisingly, it was not his first love.  Perhaps it’s not so surprising but as a young child, Jerrick was an avid basketball fan and would always be practicing on the hoop in his driveway.  While his height gave him a huge advantage, it was nearly the opposite for him in hockey.  While he was significantly bigger than just about anyone he played against, Jerrick’s rapid growth left him a bit awkward and skating was a struggle.  As he continued to excel in basketball, his interest in hockey faded, much to his father’s disappointment.

 

But all was not lost for Jerrick’s future in hockey as he began to gain much better coordination and his natural athletic ability quickly became apparent.  As his height advantage over other kids his age began to lessen, he started to gain much more interest in hockey and under guidance from his father, was able to combine a natural ability with constant practice and hard work that would enable him to become a dominant defenseman.  When he was twelve, his parents decided to take him out of the town hockey program and encouraged Jerrick to try out for a “select” program.  He went on to make the Valley Jr. Warriors, the team which he would play for over the next four years.

 

Poole played his youth hockey for the Valley Jr. Warriors, a select program in his native Massachusetts

 

At sixteen, Jerrick was truly coming into his own as a hockey player and looked to make the move to junior hockey.  He experienced his first true athletic failure when he failed to make the Valley Jr. Warriors’ EJHL team and was forced to look elsewhere to pursue a hockey career.  After a number of tryouts, he eventually found a home with the Boston Jr. Bruins who took a flyer on Poole due to a need for more defensive talent.  While Jerrick would go on to have a solid two seasons with the Bruins, he saw himself lacking any significant NCAA Division I interest and decided he would have to look elsewhere if he wanted to continue his hockey career.  Determined to prove his doubters wrong, Jerrick turned to the Victory Hockey League.

 

Pros

Work Ethic – This is perhaps the biggest thing, aside from his size, that Jerrick Poole has going for himself.  He has always been among the hardest workers on his team, never slacking off in practice while also doing everything possible to improve off the ice.  In addition, Jerrick feeds off his doubters and is always determined to prove people wrong.  After being totally overlooked by schools all over the country, expect Poole to be the type of guy who will settle for nothing less than his best.

 

Defensive Awareness – While many would expect a player of his size to be, first and foremost, a big hitter, Poole is a very intelligent player who will not unnecessarily throw his body around and find himself out of position.  He knows what to do in every situation and doesn’t look for the big hit or try and make an incredible play; Jerrick’s primary goal is always to keep the puck out of the net and will not risk a goal to make a risky play if he doesn’t have to.

 

Skating – Especially for a player of his size, Jerrick is a strong skater.  This was the weakest spot in his father’s game and as a result, he worked closely with Jerrick to make sure he wasn’t lacking in an area that is absolutely essential for a player to be able to compete at a high level.  Poole is able to keep up with opposing forwards and is also able to recover if he gets caught behind the play.  Overall, with his long stride, he has deceptive speed and this enables him to engage even the most talented offensive players and beat them without the fear of falling flat-footed and being beaten.

 

 

Cons

Puckhandling – This is, without a doubt, Poole’s greatest weakness.  While you can live with a defenseman who may not be very offensively inclined, it’s still important for any player to be an adequate puckhandler.  This is something Poole has really focused on improving lately but for now, this is the biggest detriment to his game.  Even if he wins a battle and picks up the puck in the defensive zone, he is prone to turning the puck over and giving the opposition extra chances that should be avoided.

 

Offensive Awareness – This is probably the most obvious con to Jerrick Poole’s game.  He is simply not very offensively inclined and is more of a defensive specialist.  While this is definitely helpful in certain situations, he can be a detriment to his team’s offensive flow at times.  His shot can be wildly innacurate and Poole is fairly indecisive when he gets the puck, leading to poor decision-making and, again, too many turnovers.  While he has been working on his offensive game, expect this to be something that improves as he matures as a player.

 

Experience – As a player who has only ever played for a tier three junior team, Poole lacks the experience against teams loaded with highly talented players.  While he has, without a doubt, played against his fair share of extraordinarily talented guys, he not only hasn’t dealt with a team that can consistently roll out dominant players but he also has next to no experience going up against players who are significantly older than him and have been in a league for years.  The VHL truly will test Poole and it will be expected that his lack of experience will be evident early in his career.

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Overview- 3/3

1,100 words. What great writing here. If I had to knock on anything regarding this biography, it would maybe be a closing paragraph to conclude the information part, or at least a comparison or something. Otherwise, you did a good job with detail and the overall format.

Grammar- 2/2

Great work.

 

Micheal and Mother = ?

innacurate = inaccurate

team. Poole = team, Poole

Presentation- 1/1

Sufficient enough for me.

Pros- 2/2

289 words. These were done with great detail.

Cons- 2/2

288 words. Great job with these.

Overall- 10/10

[Ball 453]

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