Cano from Carson excels in his passion for hockey

Jerry Cano, a senior at Carson High Schools Academy of Environmental Science and Engineering Technology, is your average high school student, who’s an above-average hockey player. Playing for the 18AA Jr Ducks, Cano has been on the ice since he was 14.

“I remember one night my sister was flipping through channels,” Cano recalled, remembering where his passion began. “I sat down next to her and we started to watch a hockey game. Seeing the way they glided across the ice was inspiring to me.”

With his new found passion, Cano signed up for a program called “Learn To Play,” at Lakewood Ice. This program not only gave him lessons, and taught him the skills he needed, but also provided him with most of the equipment he needed, from a helmet to his stick.

After four years of skating, and three of playing hockey, Cano was able to play defense for the Jr Ducks. The Ducks are one of the top five teams in the league. His position plays perfectly into his favorite aspect of the sport, the competition.

“I love the competitiveness, knowing that all my hard work is paying off, and knowing that I can go toe to toe with these good forwards and stop them from scoring,” Cano said. “I also love the feeling of the cool air hitting your face as you glide across the ice.” 

Even though Cano has been playing hockey at a high level, like any athlete he still has some improvements to make, and occasionally faces challenges.

“My hardest challenge though would be my speed. I’m always trying to get faster to catch up to a forward in case I made a mistake,” Cano said. 

However, Cano’s not only interested in hockey, but he is also a Fire cadet at LA’s Station 40. He seemed to be very passionate about the cadet program, going as far as to say that a firefighter is his main career choice, contrasting his love of hockey.