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No one ever said freshman year was easy.
Whether it is the lack of home cooking, a good night’s sleep, or the adjustment to a new environment, the first year of college certainly poses its own set of learning curves. For Josh Soares, however, that rookie year away from the friendly confides of Hamilton, Ontario, brought with its own set of struggles.
For Soares, now a sophomore wing for the University of Maine men’s hockey team, freshman year marked the departure of role he had held since he was a child: top dog. The talented sophomore had always been the go-to-guy. Before even committing to the Black Bears, Soares shone brightly in the OPJHL tallying a league-leading 56 goals and 68 assists for 124 points. These exorbitant numbers helped the soft-spoken Soares land the title of Western Conference’s Most Valuable Player, but more importantly, ignited a flurry of interest from several colleges.
Among the suitors were the Black Bears. UMaine head coach Tim Whitehead discussed what it was that drew the program to Soares’ abilities.
“Josh put up some insane numbers in junior hockey,” said Whitehead. “He was a very prolific scorer and assist guy up in the Toronto area throughout his career.”
The recruitment of Soares was helped along by UMaine junior Jon Jankus, who played with Soares on the Hamilton Kitty Bees before coming to Orono.
“We had the advantage of recruiting Jon Jankus previously,” said Whitehead, “and Jon spoke very highly of Josh Soares, because he known him really well and that gave us extra reason to be interested.”
Soares commented on the final decision to play for the Black Bears.
“It came down to Maine, Ferris State and Lake Superior,” said Soares. “Luckily Maine stayed around and I keep my SAT scores up.”
Freshman year, however, was not exactly what Soares had anticipated. The forward, who had grown use to pilfering goalies’ nets as if it were second nature, was suddenly fighting for the limelight. Playing in only 15 games, Soares registered three mere points in his freshman campaign. Soare’s first goal came nearly half-way through the season against the University of Vermont.
“Last year really was a difficult year for me,” said Soares. “I was coming out of juniors and I was use to playing every day and in every situation and I had to battle here just to get into the lineup. I had a lot of sleepless nights.”
Adding even more melodramatics to the proceedings was the fact that Soares had to watch Maine’s miraculous run to National Championship not on the bench but rather in the stands as a healthy scratch.
“Granted, he finished the year not in the lineup, but we had a good run down the stretch and it was tough to get in that lineup,” said Whitehead.
“I persevered through it and I just keep working,” said Soares. “I knew this summer was going to be a big change in my career if I was really going to do anything here.”
Completely aware of the changes he needed to make during the off season, Soares hit the weightroom and is now in the best shape of his career.
“What Josh did over the summer was get himself in the best shape of his life,” said Whitehead. “So his skating took a big jump, now you’re seeing him at his best.”
“I think throughout the season, I knew that if I didn’t change the way my body was I was going to have a difficult time cracking the lineup,” said Soares.
Whitehead also chatted about Soares off-season regime.
“When we saw the commitment level from Josh, I knew right away with his talent he would be pretty good this year,” said Whitehead. “I am just real excited for him, sure he will have some ups and downs like all of us do, but he has prepared himself now so his downs will be very short lived, and his ups will be a lot more consistent.”
The strenuous work away from the rink has paid off for Soares, who has emerged this season as one of the Black Bears pivotal players.
“We have given him an opportunity to show what he can do,” said Whitehead. “He deserves it, he trained and he is in the shape he needs to be in.”
Whitehead believes Soares improvement is clearly displayed on the ice.
“No question he is one of the most improved players on the team, if not in the league,” said Whitehead.
And for Soares, the progression is something that couldn’t have come soon enough.
“I am really happy with my decision right now,” said Soares. “I couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else.”
