Coaches and athletes talk lot about commitment. Michael Washlick has epitomized that quality during his time at St. Joseph’s Prep.

As an underclassman Washlick, who is now a junior, would get up at 5 a.m.  and ride a bus two hours to reach the Prep from his home in Collegeville. Now that he has a driver’s license, the trip takes 45 minutes to an hour eeach morning. He says the journey is worth it.

“From the start, when I was in the seventh and eighth grade and I shadowed the Prep and I shadowed other schools, I just knew the Prep was for me,” he said. “Walking the halls and meeting the people there, seeing the brotherhood they preach about there, it was really something I could look forward to. I could look at and say, “Wow I could really see myself being here for four years.”

As an incoming freshman Washlick, like his peers, had to adjust to the Prep’s vigorous academic demands.

“Going to the Prep, you know you’re going to have a pretty big workload,” he said. “But that’s what we’re here to do. We’re here to work, especially because I’m on the hockey team. We’re very dedicated in our academics no matter what.

“For me this year, junior year, has been a little bit tougher because there’s two to three hours of homework almost every night. It’s been hard but I can see from experience that we all take it seriously. A lot of us are student-athletes. We’re very good at balancing our time That’s what the Prep teaches us to do.”

Michael Washlick Photo: Joe Manicini

Becoming adept at time management required a period of adjustment however.

“I vividly remember coming home one night from practice freshman year and having three tests the next day” Washlick said. “I ended up doing not so well on all three of them. That was kind of my wake up moment.

“You learn the hard way and it’s a moment of growth for you to have moments like that and I’m so glad that I had a moment like that because I can confidently say now that the Prep has taught me about time management. Time management is huge, and they taught me how to do time management.”

Washlick notes his fellow student-athletes were dealing with the same learning curve, a circumstance that created a mutual support system.

“It’s uplifting to see your friends, your brothers, doing the same things you’re doing,” he said, “whether it’s football whether it’s hockey, whether it’s baseball. When you’re doing something hard but you’re doing something hard with your friends and you’re doing it together, working hard towards something together, it builds more of a bond and its confidence building it boosts your confidence.”

There was a learning curve on the ice as well. Washlick, a forward, has been playing AAA club hockey for most of a decade but stepping up to high-school varsity hockey as a freshman was challenging

‘Stepping right to varsity was very nerve wracking,” he said.

At the time I was playing against 14-year olds. I had to go up against 18-year olds and I was like this is no joke. It was little but of a transition. I started to get into the swing of things by keeping things simple for the most part.”

St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula says Washlick has matured as a player over the course of his career with the Hawks.

“I think Wash would admit that his freshman year was a bit of a learning curve,” he said, “but we are really happy with how he has developed these past two years. He is someone who has a knack for scoring, but also naturally fosters chemistry amongst his linemates, and his production these last two seasons proves that.

“We can trust him in any situation and lean on him to win a lot of key faceoffs. Most impressively, though, is the way Michael carries himself in all that he does; with respect, humility, and class. We’re really excited to see him alongside our upperclassmen group continue to grow.”