The captain’s role in hockey is unique in team sports. He’s expected to provide leadership on and off the ice, mentor his younger teammates, and perhaps serve as a liaison between the players and the coaching staff.
For Holy Ghost Prep senior Chris Marshall, the role is all encompassing.
”Basically, it’s doing anything to get the job done and win,” he said. “I feel like I have the opportunity to contribute to the team, that’s most important and we’re looking to having a really successful year again.”
Marshall spoke to the importance of the veterans in the Firebird showing the way for their younger teammates.
“That’s everything,” he said. “The seniors and juniors, the upperclassmen have to be there for the {underclassmen} and if they have a bad shift or a bad play, tell them to shake it off, go get the next one. It’s everything for us to be there for them and have one team all be united.”
This mutually supportive atmosphere does not always come to fruition around a hockey team or teams in other sports for that matter. But Marshall sees it as the norm on the Holy Ghost Prep teams he has played on.
“I think it’s the culture,” he said. “Everyone loves each other here. There’s no bickering, there’s no fighting and I think everyone knows what the job is that has to get done and I think everyone wants to work towards that.”
A Lower Bucks County native, Marshall started playing hockey at 6 and eventually followed his brother, a past Firebird captain to Holy Ghost Prep.
“I only really had eyes on Ghost,” he said. “There was no other school I wanted to go to.
“My family played hockey my whole life so I kind of grew up around the game It’s just been a part of my life.”
Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie listed the attributes that Marshall brings to the captaincy.
“He understands what it means to be a Holy Ghost student-athlete,” Ritchie said. “He’s well like by everyone, he, has a positive demeanor and knows the right time when to speak up to try to motivate the team. He’s been on varsity for three years and witnessed the team struggle and succeed, as well as, his own personal accomplishments and obstacles.”
Ritchie says Marshall is well-equipped to handle the responsibilities that come with wearing the captain’s C.
“It’s important to me that the person wearing the C knows how to handle adversity individually because when they’re tasked with being in charge of the team, they can’t fold or disappear,” he said. “Chris is someone that meets these things head on and sets a good tone for our locker room. He is a role model for the younger players.”
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