Senior Reid Philabaum is a three-year hockey veteran who has achieved both athletic and academic success. Throughout the past 3 years, Philabaum has contributed a remarkable amount of contribution to the hockey team, being a key defenseman and goalie. Alongside his athletic career, Philabaum has strived for excellence in the classroom, incorporating a rigorous schedule into his busy student-athlete life. Philabaum stays busy in various ways with his job, sport, and education; many high school students do not take on the burden that this senior does. Philabaum has committed to Eastern Michigan University majoring in sports management and hoping to one day be a sports analyst. 

How do you balance a good student-athlete schedule with success in the classroom and on the ice?

The way I balance my success in the classroom with my hockey schedule is I do my homework whenever I have the time before and after practice and I do most of my work in class so that my time is focused on sports after school.

During times when you may not feel motivated, how do you push yourself to get what you need done?

When I don’t feel motivated at times I will do something that can distract me from what I’m doing and I get my motivation again. I just think about my future, I may not really want to do something but I have to think about how it will impact my success because although being an athlete is important, being a good student is equally essential.

What challenges have you faced that have caused setbacks in your academic life? How did you push past those challenges?

Some things that caused setbacks in my academic life were things like vacations that I went on, either personal or for athletics. A lot of the time teenagers go on trips in high school and miss days, so I had to do my homework and make up the material that I was missing so I wouldn’t fall back. You won’t feel motivated at all to do school work while on vacation but it is something that you have to do. 

How did you prepare yourself for games during the season? How did this help you ensure maximum performance?

One thing that I would always do before games is wake up early the morning of the game, this would always make sure that I didn’t sleep in and go into the game feeling sleepy. This would help me feel energized and it also allowed me to prepare myself to get the proper nutrition so I am getting all the energy I need for a game.

Are there any other activities that you partake in now that the regular hockey season is over? Why do you do this activity in place of hockey?

Now that the season is over, I mainly just work and I will sometimes go to sticks and pucks with some people, but I also play tennis, and now that it is starting to get warmer outside I will start to switch my attention to that instead of hockey. I play hockey when tennis is over because it is a lot easier to go out and play tennis, and it is a good way to stay active while having a good time.

What made you want to major in sports management? Why do you want to become a sports analyst?

I just love sports and it is something that has always made me happy, whether I’m watching it, or playing it. Studying it on a higher level is just what I see best fits me. I want to become a sports analyst because when watching hockey games, the announcer always makes the game more exciting, so I saw myself in that position since I already have some intelligence in hockey.

Since you are going to college and staying on-campus, are you planning on coming back home to live or are you going to live somewhere else?

I honestly don’t know, when I think about it, I see myself at home and not anywhere else, but you never know where you’ll end up so you just let things happen.

What was your favorite memory from your senior year, what made this so important to you?

Definitely the hockey season, it definitely didn’t go as planned but there is nothing better than seeing the boys every day and spending time together. The people that I met during the hockey season are people that I will remember forever and always be close friends with. Teammates are the closest bonds you make and that is what was so important to me.

If you could go back in your childhood and experience one thing again what would it be, and why?

One thing that I always looked forward to in my childhood was Christmas morning, it just isn’t the same as it was when I was 10. Things just get less exciting, but as a kid, that was something that was so exciting that you couldn’t sleep at all, just wait to open gifts.  

Lastly, how would you describe your high school experience in a sentence or two?

I would say my high school experience was definitely memorable, it is such an important time for all people and it is something that people never forget. People always say that high school years are the best times of your life, and that might be a little overrated, but it was still a time that I really enjoyed.