Young hockey star seeks out sport not offered at Holton

March 1, 2010 • Kadi Suarez  
Filed under Sports

James Kenyon Godfrey, a freshman who goes by his middle name, may not receive a lot of attention in school or school activities, but behind the scenes, Kenyon does what very few, if any, Holton High School students have done before; he plays competitive hockey.

Even though Kenyon has chosen to opt for something besides Holton sports, his reasoning is clear.

“I have been playing hockey since before I moved to Holton. I really don’t like to play football or any other sport for the competition; I would rather just do it for fun. I just really love hockey,” he said.

Starting out at four years old, Kenyon found that skating came easy for him and thus began to play hockey in his hometown, Topeka. By the age of ten, Kenyon began trying out for more competitive teams in Kansas City and now has a spot on the Kansas City Junior Outlaws.

Kenyon has sacrificed time he might spend around Holton or with friends in Holton, to travel to Kansas City three days out of the week for a two-hour practice with his coach Sergei Bentin.

“(Bentin) is a very angry and loud person and he likes to scream a lot,” says Kenyon, “(but) he knows the game very well.”

Bentin holds the stereotypical hockey coach position well, as he is very angry and loud in his coaching; however Bentin’s resume is outstanding, which may set him apart from the coaches on other club teams. Sergei Bentin was a very competitive player in his day, winning the gold medal in the Olympics when he played on the 1980 Olympic team, as well as having played a couple of years in the NHL.

Being coached under Bentin is a desire most young hockey players have. Bentin holds tryouts every June and Kenyon is one of the lucky few that makes the team regularly.

Tryouts are pretty tough because there are about 100 kids that try out for this team every year and they can only have 40 kids in all for both JV and Varsity,” Kenyon said.

Having a smart and competitive coach and selected, talented players, have resulted in successful tournament outcomes and league victories.

“Our season has been pretty good. The Varsity is still undefeated and our JV only has four losses. We have won both our tournaments so far, in Dallas and in Kansas City”, Kenyon said. “Nationals are in March-April and the year end tournament is in early March.” The team is hoping for a good outcome from both as they are ranked second in league and 22nd nationally.

A lot of time is spent competing all over the United States almost nonstop for months, but the Junior Outlaws always find time to give back to people who are less fortunate. They put on events for mentally challenged kids and help them skate around or skate around on sleds. The Junior Outlaws also visit elderly homes and do various community service projects.

Through Kenyon’s experience with the Junior Outlaws, he is starting to see his dedication to the sport start to pay off.

“My ultimate goal is to get drafted by a junior league and then get scouted and drafted by a college team,” Kenyon said. “I already have some Junior Leagues looking to pick me up and have been invited to a tryout for the Topeka Roadrunners.”

Kenyon would love to pass on his love for the sport to others.

“If you ever get the chance to play hockey, do it. It’s so much fun and skating is really pretty easy to the hang of. Even if you get to go ice-skating, you should try it; it’s really nothing like rollerblading,” Kenyon said.

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