For Connor Kennedy, a 16-year-old junior at Peotone High School, holding a hockey stick is as natural as breathing. Connor, the son of Peotone residents Marcia and Tim Kennedy, has been in love with the sport since he was three and has been playing, in one way or another, since that very young age.
Around 2010, he became interested in hockey while watching the Blackhawks with his Dad. It was an exciting time, as the Hawks were making a move and just coming into their own. At that time, young Connor often wore a bike helmet and plastic roller skates as he zipped around the kitchen during “his special hockey games.”
Officially, though, he began playing when he was seven with the Kankakee Coyotes, advancing to the Midwest Blackbirds in St. John, Indiana, and then with the Orland Park Vikings, beginning with the 14U team.
It’s a most rigorous and demanding sport. The Orland Park Vikings – a Tier II AA team – start with tryouts the beginning of August, with the first game scheduled in September. Practices for this defenseman require a commitment of usually two 2-1/2 hour practices per week, followed by one or two games on the weekend, unless it’s a tournament. That could up the game count to as many as four. It also involves a great deal of travel, as the league faces teams from all over the Chicagoland area and also includes a team in Colorado – yes, Colorado! This schedule continues into March, unless you have the good fortune to make it to the final tournament. Just because Connor is not on the ice, you still might find him with a hockey stick in hand – in the family garage practicing shots.
This year Connor’s team, the Orland Park Vikings 16U, made it to the National Championship in Dallas, Texas, from April 3 – 7, AND they brought home the championship title with a 5-2 victory over the North Jersey Kings.
Sometimes you just have to believe something is “meant to be.” The Vikings did not win the Illinois State Championship, which would have made them eligible for the National Tourney. BUT there also was an at-large bid available. All year, the Vikings were ranked in the top five in the country, so that bid definitely had the team’s name on it! And as they say – the rest is history!
Congratulations to Connor and his teammates! Can’t wait to see what happens next year – somehow think it’s going to be great!
Update: The Chicago Blackhawks contacted the Viking Coach on April 9 to congratulate the team then gave the team and coaches free tickets to the Sunday, April 14, game. The Hawks will honor the Vikings on the Jumbotron at that time. What a way to close the season!!!
Awesome job Connor. ????