Young skater in male and female leagues
Twelve-year-old Easton Pramuka has visited most of the major cities on the American East Coast. That’s what happens when you play in four competitive hockey leagues.
Some players are introduced to the sport while they are still in preschool. Easton was different. “I went on the ice for the first time at six,” she recalled, “and got off right away. At seven, they put me in a clinic. Some days I wanted to quit. But instead I started to work harder.”
And the hard work helped her. Easton has been on the ice with players who are several years older than she is. Since she participates in four leagues, she has to adjust to certain rule changes. “Playing with boys I have to keep my head up,” she explains. “Girls you can’t hit.”
We didn’t ask which variation of the game she likes better. But we did ask if she ever gets into fights. It seemed like a legitimate question after watching the brawls on television. “I do,” she admitted, “especially with boys. They’re more irritating and a little more cocky. But they don’t intimidate me. I’m actually bigger than some of them.”
Easton’s success on the ice is the product of hard work, good coaching, and good genes. She’s named for the hockey stick her mother used while setting a scoring record in a college game. Her father came to North America as a member of a 12-year-old National All Star team from Czechoslovakia.
They both have coached their daughter. “They have made a huge impact on me,” Easton confessed.
“They’ve made so many sacrifices and they’re both amazing role models.”
Easton would like to follow her father’s example. While he was touring with the national team, he was recruited by a prep school and remained in North America. Easton is eyeing prep schools and is hoping to use one of them as a stepping stone to the Ivy League. She understands the importance of academics, and refuses to let hockey interfere with her school work.
After some prodding, the young athlete offered one example of what she’s accomplished on the ice. One of her teams compiled a near perfect record and reached the league finals. The championship game went into overtime with the score tied 2-2. Easton stole the puck from an opposing player and scored the winning goal on a breakaway.
“I go all year round,” Easton told me. “There are practices during the week and clinics on Saturdays and Sundays.” And, as mentioned at the start of this article, there’s a lot of traveling.
Her schedule forces the 12-year-old to say “no” to friends who want to hang out or go to the mall. There just isn’t time. Her mother has cautioned her about doing too much and eventually burning out.
Easton understands the danger, but she’s not likely to change her commitment. “I’ve talked to my mom,” she revealed. “But on a Saturday or a Sunday there’s nothing else I’d rather do.”
