Senior hockey player Carissima Heinis’ path to hockey started on the ice, just not with a stick and a puck. Carissima’s first on on-ice experience came in the form of figure skating, although that admittedly didn’t go so well.
“I started figure skating when I was eight, I was horrible at it,” Carissima said. “The stiff posture and the long blades did not work for me.”
When she was nine, Carissima turned to hockey and the experience was much better.
“It was a whole different experience,” Carissima said. “Hockey skates are so much easier to skate in and the hockey stance felt so much more natural to me. Plus, the padding and helmets made it a lot more fun when you fell.”
For Carissima, the inspiration for trying hockey came from being around the rink, something her entire family lives and breathes daily.
“I was introduced to this sport by my brother,” Carissima said. “I was a rink rat that ran around the rink with the other player’s siblings but more and more I would stop playing to watch what was going on out on the ice. My mom was coaching my brother’s team and I just wanted to be out there too. The next year I tried ‘learn to play’ hockey. It was so cool to go from being a watcher to a player. Everyone in my family plays on a hockey team so pretty much every night of the week someone always has a game.”
Carissima is now a standout senior for coach Nancy LeBlanc’s 12-4-1 team.
“Carissima is a hardworking and dedicated player that drives to be competitive every time she steps on the ice,” LeBlanc said. “This year Carissima’s hard work has helped the team improve and has contributed to our success with six goals and one assist. Carissima’s dedication and hard work will certainly help her achieve her goal of playing ice hockey at the collegiate level next year.”
“I definitely want to continue playing ice hockey in college, no matter what school I go to,” Carissima said. “I am in discussions with D3 and club level coaches. I have been visiting some of the colleges multiple times and watching the team’s practices and games. I want to go to a school that will challenge me academically and where I feel like I fit on the hockey team.”
Carissima also wants to find a college where she can study to enter a career in the medical field.
“My plan is to start with a biology degree program and then attend graduate school in a medical field,” Carissima said. “I have been accepted everywhere that I applied but I have still not made my final choice.”
Here on the LHS hockey team, Carissima said she has learned a lot from coach LeBlanc.
“Coach Nancy LeBlanc wants to make all of us better players,” Carissima said. “She has definitely shown us how passionate she is about the sport. Coaching the team is not just a ‘job’ for her. A few teammates and I made it to (club) state playoffs in the fall. She came to the games and cheered us on. She wants us to all play the game the best we can.”
Carissima also enjoys being part of the Blue Devil team, one that has players from a variety of schools from the region.
“I really like all of the girls on the team,” Carissima said. “We are a huge Co-Op team so in some situations that could be a bad thing, to have girls from so many different schools. Not only are my teammates that are from Leominster very supportive and friendly in school but everyone from the other schools are great also. We all are working very hard and we all get along. Some teams do not have that friendly dynamic. I love team sports where everyone is working towards a common goal.”
Carissima’s success and enjoyment comes after a setback earlier in her high school career.
“When I was born we lived in Oakham, Mass, a small rural town,” Carissima said. “We moved to Harvard, Mass when I was in preschool. Harvard had a Co-Op girls hockey team with Acton-Boxborough. I was on their team starting in seventh grade. I took ninth grade off from hockey to have my ACL reconstructed from a piece of my hamstring. I was back on the ice with them in 10th grade. We moved and I started school here last year and joined Leominster’s team.”
Battling back from that injury made Carissima realize just how much she loved the sport of hockey.
“I love everything about ice hockey,” Carissima said. “I love putting on my equipment and getting those first few strides on the ice. It doesn’t matter what happened during the day or what will happen tomorrow, it all goes away on the ice.”
“Ice hockey is a very fast sport,” Carissima continued. “You don’t have time to think about anything else when you are out there. You are fully in the moment. I could go on for pages and pages about what I love about ice hockey: the smell of the ice, a smooth dry sheet with no blade marks yet, power skating drills where your legs are on fire but you feel so strong, the ping of the puck when you hit a bar-down shot, always knowing that your teammates have your back in any situation, the camaraderie, summer hockey in a cold rink on a hot humid night, back-checking and beating your opponent to the puck, icing it on purpose during a penalty kill…. I just love everything about hockey.”
Here at LHS, Carissima said Early College Academy Academic Counselor Shaunti Phillips has made a major difference in her time as a Blue Devil.
“She has been there for me since day one on making sure my transfer has gone accordingly,” Carissima said. “She also had written one of my college recommendation letters. She was definitely the main teacher I knew I could go to if I needed help with anything and saw the best in me. But my favorite class is definitely the college writing course through Mount Wachusett that Leominster offered. I took it my junior year and I definitely liked the structure as well as the scheduling throughout the course.”
Outside of school, Carissima likes working out and going to the gym and getting together with friends when times allows. She also works as a skating coach in Worcester and enjoys cooking.
“I used to cook with my mom but recently I have been cooking on my own to find my own cooking style and favorite recipes,” Carissima said. “My dad restores vehicles so I helped him put an engine in a truck. I am also on my dad’s men’s league team for ice hockey.”
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