Noah’s Introduction – Pro Hockey Player

Noah’s first post…

Athlete: Noah Katz

Born: September 14, 1982 in Baltimore, Maryland

Age: 27

Sport: Ice Hockey

Position: Forward

Level: Professional

Experience: Currently 5^th season as a professional, 4 years of NCAA hockey, competitive on select and travel teams since age 10

Current team: Freiburg Wolves- 2.Bundesliga Germany (2^nd division)

Current Contract: 1 year contract for 2009-2010 season, expires April 2010

Current Goal: A contract in the DEL (German 1^st Division)

More about me:

For as long as I can remember Hockey has been the passion that drives my life. Since the day I first laced up my skates in the 3^rd grade I have been addicted, driven, focused and one track minded about being a professional hockey player.  Something that is certainly not typical for a kid who grew up in a nontraditional hockey area and with a non athletic family background. While many believed that my dreams were out of reach, I battled through adversity and have overcome obstacles that have stood in the way of my dreams. Leaving home at the age of 15 to pursue my dreams, I found my way to an NCAA division 1 roster spot as a walk on through my tireless work ethic and passion for the game. Two years later with more understanding of what it would take and a bad taste of politics, I transferred to an NCAA division 3 school to gain the playing experience I would need to further my career. I never lost sight of what I wanted and walked away with more valuable experience, a college degree in Exercise Science and started my career as a professional. Although I never thought it would be an easy road to the top, I never could have imagined what would have happened in my first season. From training camp with an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, to single A hockey, up to AA and then back again to single A, I found my way to 5 different teams in that first year. I also found my way to Dr.Neff and MTI when I was playing for the Texas Brahmas in the Ft.Worth area. When I first began working with Dr.Neff, I was a talented hockey player with big aspirations but I did not know how to take my aspirations and turn them into a reality. I also was struggling with the sickness and eventual passing of my father to pancreatic cancer which really affected my emotional state. And of course, after being bounced from team to team and learning the ropes of life as a professional, I doubted myself and my abilities as a hockey player more than ever. Working with Dr.Neff I was able to deal with all of these issues. I learned to control my future and negative thoughts, how to map out my career goals, how to use visualization and progressive relaxation to my benefit and also how to use my heart to guide me and not the doubts in my head.

As my career has continued, it has not always been a smooth path. I have been traded, released, waived, told that I was not good enough and played for more teams than I care to remember. But I also have had incredible successes. I have scored amazing goals, assisted on others,  traveled across the country and the world. Met and competed with and against some of the top players in the NHL and in the world and did more than held my own. I have had many days when my battered and sore body has sunk into the seat on the bus and I smiled from the inside out, fresh off the ice from a “white moment zone performance.” It is moments like this that make my heart race with excitement and my head fill with joy because I am chasing down my dream, a dream that I know in my heart was meant for me. I hope my comments here move you in some way toward your dreams.  I don’t know what my path holds for me, but it’s sure to be exciting!