While winning Varsity is a remarkable achievement, current student and ice-hockey player Aidan (Biology, 2022) will remember the season more for the friendships and resilience that made it possible.
While juggling the demands of his degree, he captained Oxford’s ice hockey team to an undefeated season, with record-breaking Varsity victories and distinction as the University’s Sports Team of the Year. Here he considers leadership and life at Queen’s as he gets ready to graduate.
You led the University ice hockey team to an undefeated season and national title -congratulations! What has stayed with you from that experience?
I think honestly the best part of this experience was doing it alongside my teammates. I’m coming to the end of my degree now and looking back, ice hockey and my team have been such a massive part of my experience here at university. I feel like there is a special kind of bond that can only be forged in those away-game Monday nights getting back to Oxford at 5am. I’ve had more amazing experiences than I can count, from playing ice hockey at sunrise on frozen port meadow to winning the weekend in Sheffield and becoming national champions – I think what will stay with me the most is all the people I have met and the relationships made here, with friends I know from hockey now all over the world (and hopefully with a sofa for me to sleep on).
I’ve had more amazing experiences than I can count, from playing ice hockey at sunrise on frozen port meadow to winning the weekend in Sheffield and becoming national champions.
Winning varsity by record margins is an awesome achievement; what do you think made your team stand out from the rest of the competition?
We obviously had a very good team this year, but I think what really made us stand out from the competition was our chemistry off the ice. I don’t think any other team in the league had spent as much time together or knew each other as well as ours. We showed that at nationals, and it was nice to hammer home at the end of the year with our fourth win in one season against c*mbridge; it felt pretty memorable to have a bit of a crowd and score at our home varsity with my parents watching in the stands.
You then received the award for Oxford University Sports Team of the Year on behalf of your team. What did that recognition mean to you?
Yeah that really meant a lot to me. Ice hockey is quite a big commitment at Oxford with obscene training times that can be somewhat incompatible with normal life here, I know how much the team deserved that recognition and it was a lovely way to tie up the year as well as my captaincy – it’s definitely something that I’ll remember forever.
As captain, what did you learn about leading a team under pressure?
In sports like these, and perhaps particularly on my team, there can be some quite big personalities. The 15 players in the changing rooms might want to hear 15 different things to play at their best; to be honest I found it really fun managing these dynamics, saying what’s best for the team whilst also tailoring your communication to speak to individual teammates with wildly different backgrounds and priorities. It’s super rewarding to play a part in creating such a close-knit, healthy culture in a team, but you especially feel that in certain moments, like the nationals semi-finals when we were 2-0 down against the tournament favourites with just three minutes to go; the level of trust needed to rally 15 big egos to play for each other and come back from that is pretty special I think.
I found it really fun managing these dynamics, saying what’s best for the team whilst also tailoring your communication to speak to individual teammates with wildly different backgrounds and priorities.
It was such an honour to be captain of these guys, and I’m feeling that particularly now as I’ve just had my last ever skate here in Oxford.
How does being a high-level athlete shape your day-to-day life as a student at Oxford?
I would by no means consider myself a high-level athlete – hahaha! However, as I’ve mentioned, the training times can be extremely anti-social, getting home from training past 2am on a school night or past 5am for away games can be a bit ridiculous with a STEM degree. Especially when you’re captain it can be a real balancing act of responsibilities and priorities, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The balancing act in itself is so valuable and I think in Oxford you definitely need a place to get away from Oxford. I’ve made so many wonderful friends, had so many wonderful experiences, and it would be hard to imagine my life as a student without sports – it would definitely be a lot more boring, whilst we are of course here for our degrees first and foremost, we are also here for so much more than that.
I’ve made so many wonderful friends, had so many wonderful experiences, and it would be hard to imagine my life as a student without sports.
How did you get into ice hockey to start with?
So, although I had never played ice hockey before coming to university, weirdly I played roller hockey growing up, which is basically the exact same thing, just on wheels. What’s really nice at Oxford is that there is alternative ice hockey or “alts” which hundreds of students go to every week with music and no one really knowing how to skate or play hockey- it’s a fun way to spend time with friends and a great way to get into ice hockey if someone wanted to. My College ‘daughter’ at Queen’s even started going to alts in first year and now plays ice hockey for one of the University teams.
What’s really nice at Oxford is that there is alternative ice hockey or “alts” which hundreds of students go to every week with music and no one really knowing how to skate or play hockey- it’s a fun way to spend time with friends and a great way to get into ice hockey if someone wanted to.
What do you enjoy most about being at Queen’s?
It’s so nice to have a place that feels like home whilst you’re at university, especially in 1st year. You see the same 100 people every day and it’s so easy to make friends and spend time together. Perhaps I was just lucky but I also really love the College family system which is where you have someone in the year above to speak to for subject-specific advice. That’s great in itself, but it also means that you can meet so many more people and I made a lot of good friends in the year above. It’s then nice in second-year when you can kind of pass that knowledge on and reassure your own College ‘children’.
Can you recommend a book?
To stay on topic, I hear Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid is pretty good…
