Having played to a high standard in America, he returned to the UK in August as a better player with plenty of experience, and is now looking to push on to the next level.
Ben began his ice hockey career skating at home in Sheffield when he was eight. He played as goalie for Sheffield Junior Steelers for two years and, in the process, fell in love with the sport. He had to leave his team behind when his family moved to America but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he soon discovered that ice hockey was far more popular over there. Soon after arriving he joined up with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Junior Knights, more than holding his own against the American kids who’d been brought up surrounded by ice hockey.
Describing his team’s performance he said: “Last season the team achieved Tier 1 Triple AAA status. This is the highest level of youth hockey in the States and we played an intense season of 50 AA and AAA games.
“It was tiring but it was brilliant to be playing at such a high standard in America.”
Travelling all over the East Coast and Canada to for matches, in 2008 he was then given the opportunity to try out for an All Star team in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
This involved a grueling 200 mile trip twice a week for five months before he was eventually selected for the Hershey Quebec AAA team, as one of their goal keepers. He played in the Pee Wee World Championships in Quebec in February 2009, continuing to undertake the journey three times a week, for four months. The endless travelling paid off though, as they eventually came away from Quebec as winners of the World Championships, International B Division.
Ben relocated back to Sheffield in August, and joined Mount St Mary’s College in Spinkhill. He is now trying out for the Midland’s Conference Team and, if selected, he will represent the Midlands in a European tournament after Christmas.
His coach is also arranging a trial for the English national team and, even though he has big ambitions for his hockey, he still makes sure he has time for his school work: “I manage to fit training in around school three times a week, it's not always easy but it’s working out well.
“In the future I want to go back to the States and play College Hockey and, my ultimate dream is to play in the NHL.”
Paul Scott, director of sport at Mount St Mary’s, said: “Ben is a credit to the school. We have a strong reputation for sport at Mount St Mary’s and Ben is a great example of the calibre of sports men and women we have here.”