For a high-school hockey player, performing on the ice while also succeeding academically is a balancing act. Thomas Doucet appears to have struck that balance.
The La Salle senior is one of the Explorers’ top defensemen. He’s also carrying a 4.1 grade-point average on a weighted 4.0 scale with a schedule that includes four AP courses, while also playing club hockey for the Valley Forge Minutemen.
Doucet, a Wayne resident, is also active in the Frozen Lemonade Cup event which utilizes hockey as a vehicle to support childhood cancer research.
Somehow, he makes it all work.
“For me, it’s about doing what I can, when I can,” Doucet said. “Really, just finding time in my schedule.
Doucet’s schedule, in the classroom and on the ice, is daunting, to say the least. La Salle utilizes modified block scheduling so his AP classes meet on alternate days; biology and psychology on one day, English and statistics the next. The AP classes are an hour long save for biology (90 minutes) which includes a lab.
Once the school day ends, there is hockey. Doucet is typically on the ice with the Explorers two days a week; normally Monday and Wednesday, plus Tuesday and Thursday evenings with his club team.
Following hockey, there is a vigorous homework schedule.
“It’s about making time for the things that are important,” Doucet said, “and really prioritizing over the distractions is kind of what has helped me be able to manage all of it.
“Coming to La Salle kind of pushed me into learning time management. The homework schedule for me is pretty rigorous and I feel like that’s what kind of what pushed me to really be able to manage my time well.”
Doucet gets his homework done during free periods during the school day and at home before or after a session on the ice.
“I’ll get home and immediately do my homework,” he said.
Doucet weekends are devoted to club games with the Minutemen, which often involve travel. He takes work with him on the road but focuses on getting assignments competed ahead of a road trip, whether it’s a weekday excursion with the Explorers or a weekend tournament with his club team.
“That’s where you find time and you make time,” he said. “Usually, I’ll try the day before a road trip like that to get all my homework done the next day so that day when I get home I’m able to relax and not have to stress about homework right after playing a big game.”
Club games sometimes involve missing class time. Doucet estimates he’ll miss perhaps a half dozen days of school during the hockey season, normally on Fridays.
“That’s where communication really comes in,” he said. “Communication, building a good relationship with your teachers, really becomes key for me. And also, relying on your classmates to get any notes that you missed, really just communicating with everyone and building strong relationships really helps that become more manageable.”
Even in the midst of a hockey trip, Doucet attends to his academic chores.
“I do a little bit of studying before I go to bed,” he said. “If I have an assignment that’s due on Sunday night, I’ll being my laptop with me and get that finished up.
“But usually, I think I’m pretty good at getting my stuff done before I have hockey so I can focus on my athletic side.”
Doucet cites his ability to maintain his discipline and focus as a key to maintaining his demanding schedule.
I’d say ‘Definitely’ about the discipline,” he said. “Especially in today’s world, there’s a lot of distractions. So, being able to stay focused, stay locked in, keeping your mind on the task, has really been helpful for me.”
Ducette credits the culture at La Salle as being instrumental to his success.
“That’s probably the biggest part for me,” he said. “Again, building relationships with your teachers and your peers. They make the school experience overall easier, so when it comes to missing a class or having to retake a test, or something like that, it just makes it a million times easier for me to get back on track and stay on top of things.”
The close of the 2023-24 season will end a phase of Doucet’s hockey career. With college ahead, he has new priorities.
“I’m going to move on from hockey,” he said. “I’m going to play club hockey in college but I really want to focus on my academics.”
Docette is planning a major in pharmaceutical sciences. The schools he’s applied to include Purdue, the University of Georgia, and McGill University in Montreal.
“I really have this deep-rooted love for science,” he said. And I feel like using my love for science to help people really drew me in, really gave me a good sense of direction, a good sense of purpose.”
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