2004 Select 14 Development Camp

Trevor Grywatch sets an example beyond his peers

Kristy McNeil
Special to usahockey.com

Among the 240 players who participated in USA Hockey’s Select 14 Player Development Camp July 16-23 in Rochester, N.Y., was Trevor Grywatch. The Ashburn, Va., native didn’t stand out only for his work on the ice, though he did help Team Green to the event’s second-best record (4-2-0) with his speed and puckhandling, but it was his character and service to society that will make him stand out in any crowd.   

It all started three years ago, when Grywatch began volunteering at a local assisted living community center, serving Thanksgiving dinners to the elderly. “I like to help out in the community and give back to those less fortunate,” Grywatch said. This past fall, as the community service representative of his hockey team, the Ashburn Xtreme, he recommended that they join him on Thanksgiving. His teammates agreed and they spent their day at the center. 

Grywatch also became involved in a toy drive this year, organized by the hockey association. He and his fellow teammates collected toys and brought them to the pediatric cancer and terminally ill juvenile units at a local hospital. “We gave them the toys and we played games with them, too.” Grywatch said. “We had fun and it made me feel good to see them having fun and smiling.”

In the spring, Grywatch participated in a sled hockey program, teaching disabled children that they, too, can play hockey. Grywatch also participates in the sled hockey program on his own, beyond the volunteering he does with his hockey team. (The sled hockey program was generated by volunteers in the county during the spring season.) “I helped out with the sled hockey program once a week, on Sundays, this past spring. I just started this past year, but I can’t wait to do it again. You just let the kids have fun, and let them go out and do what they want on the ice. It makes them feel free.”

Trevor explains that it is not always easy managing his volunteering time with his schedule. “Sometimes it conflicts with your schedule -- vacations, hockey practice.  With the sled hockey we had to do early wakeups because it’s hard to get ice time. But the feeling that you get and the gratitude you get back afterward makes it worth it.”

When asked what advice he would give others about the value of serving, Grywatch insisted, “It’s great to get into. You feel good after, and it makes you a better person in the end. I think it’s a necessity to help out as much as you can, because you may need the same thing [in return] someday, and it’s good to work for people. It just feels like the right thing to do.”

A 4.0 honor student at Belmont Ridge Middle School, Grywatch was selected as a Batten Scholar at Culver Military Academy, which he will attend in the fall. The Batten Scholarship is a full-tuition merit scholarship that also includes the cost of room, board, uniforms, books, and outside study/volunteer service programs. Over 400 prospective students applied, while 25 were invited to go through a grueling interview process that resulted in only five Batten Scholarships. Grywatch became the first player in Culver’s hockey program to receive the scholarship.

JJ Schmiedlin, a coach at this week’s Development Camp and an assistant coach at Culver said, “Some kids who apply have scored 1500 on their SATs, but they didn’t get in. Trevor is just so well rounded -- with his academics and his involvement in community service. I’ve only met him briefly, but the things I’ve heard about him are amazing. He’s something special.”

Grywatch is someone who not only his peers can look up to, but someone all of us can.  Without making excuses for being too busy, although clearly he is, he finds time to give back to his community, while at the same time excelling in the classroom and on the ice.