By Brady Busha
A new addition to the Lawrence University Hockey Team, Nick Felan is a forward for the Vikings. So far, he has played in nine of the Vikings’ thirteen games. In his time on the ice, he has scored two goals and contributed five assists to the cause. His seven points are good for second on the team, despite missing four games due to injury.
Where are you from? What drew you to Lawrence?
I’m from Highland Village, Texas. I came here for the academics. I really liked coach (Skodzinski) every time I came too, as well as the guys and the campus. The main thing, though, is the academics.
How do you get yourself hyped when you’re putting on the pads? How do you stay focused?
I stay focused by picturing what I’m going to do during the game; I imagine the situations I’m going to be in. I listen to music to block out the distractions. I listen to rap, but I don’t really pay attention to the lyrics; it’s more for the beat to help me focus.
Now that the season’s beginning, what has been your favorite part of the whole experience?
How close the team has become as a unit. We’ve faced a lot of injuries, but everybody has been really supportive, and we’ve battled through a lot of adversities.
What’s one thing you’ve enjoyed so far this year as a Lawrence student?
I really like how easy it is to talk with the professors, to engage with them and to get help. I also enjoy how everybody seems to know each other and gets along well. But I really enjoy how personal you can be with your professors.
How different does the atmosphere of Lawrence feel from where you’ve been previously?
It’s much smaller than my high school, so it’s definitely a much more tight-knit community. I think everybody here is much nicer. My graduating class had 900 students, so it’s definitely different here.
How have your teammates helped you with your transition into the life of a collegiate student-athlete?
They’ve helped me a lot. In the beginning of the term, I’d be stressing about biology. When we were at practice, I’d be trying to memorize for quizzes, that kind of thing. They talked to me and helped me realize that hockey was the one place you were supposed to not really think about that just to let it go for a while. Those few hours you have at the rink is about the game, not about the test next week, and it helped.
Lawrence, traditionally, has had a lot of success with the hockey program over the years. What do you bring to this team that could help to keep that tradition going?
I think that I bring a lot of hard work and a positive attitude. I try to make people laugh.