Student-Athlete of the Week: Jackson Foy

2018 ended on a high note for Niwot ninth-grader Jackson Foy, who beat out dozens of the state’s top U14 hockey goaltenders to win this year’s Colorado Avalanche Mini 1 on 1 Challenge.

Foy survived two rounds of qualifying in December before reaching the finals, which were held at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 28. There, he outlasted two other competitors in the shootout style tournament and was crowned Colorado’s top U14 goalie.

“It was amazing to play and win at the Pepsi Center,” Foy wrote in an email interview. “I wish I could have done it in past years.”

Naturally, Foy and the other winners walked away with more than just a new title. The competition also awarded several prizes, including an Avalanche jersey and a piece of signed Avalanche memorabilia, as well as game tickets. The team also invited the winners to participate in a Shootout Showcase during halftime of the Jan. 2 Avs game against San Jose, which Foy considers the most memorable part of the entire competition.

Foy has been playing hockey for eight years, and took up goaltending three years ago. He didn’t have any special strategy or preparation going into the Challenge, and, in fact, wasn’t on the ice much in the week prior to the final round due to the holidays. Nor was he particularly nervous about his performance.

“I felt confident going into the competition because my club's goalie coach always has us do shootouts at the end of each practice,” he wrote. “I didn’t really get nervous as the final round approached, but I did get nervous when I didn’t stop the first two shots I faced in the final round.”

Foy is currently sharing keeper duties for the Boulder Hockey Club’s U14 Bantam A team, which is about two-thirds through a 2018-19 season that is “not going the greatest.” He practices with the team at the Sports Stable in Superior at least four days per week, and then plays in games on the weekend.

Foy didn’t admit to any particular strength as a goalie, but wrote that he “succeed[s] in the big things.” As for the position’s challenges, he added that the key is “keeping a calm mental attitude when you get scored on and not getting lazy when you have a big lead.”

When he’s not on the ice for the BHC, Foy is a freshman at Niwot who enjoys history and recently volunteered to make meals for the homeless. He also plans to join the baseball team in spring, after hockey ends in February.