Goalie goes from Amherstburg Stars to Ohio State Buckeyes
Lisa Steffes makes official visit to Columbus later this month
Posted By Ron Giofu/The Amherstburg Echo
Posted 19 days ago
RIVER CANARD — The journey started for Lisa Steffes when her older brother Greg put her in net so he could practice shooting on someone.
From there, it proceeded to a transformation from figure skating to minor hockey and a desire to stay in the crease despite an opportunity to rotate to another position.
Now, the 17-year-old St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School student is set to embark on the next stage of her educational and hockey careers having verbally committed to a full-ride scholarship to Ohio State University valued at approximately $39,000 per year.
"I was very excited when I heard they gave me an offer," Steffes told the Amherstburg Echo. "To get an offer from the school you always wanted to go to is a great experience."
Steffes, currently a goaltender with the Bluewater Jr. Hawks girls' hockey team based out of Strathroy, first started garnering attention from universities in both Canada and the United States as far back as two years ago. Ohio State was the most aggressive and persistent, said Steffes, and she made an unofficial visit to Columbus, Ohio in January. She was impressed with the size of the campus but noted she will likely only have to use just part of it.
"Once you're on it, it doesn't feel as big," she said. "I loved it. It just felt like home."
Steffes' official visit is scheduled for Nov. 13 and she is expected to sign with the Buckeyes around then. She will major in French with the goal of becoming a lawyer one day. Steffes revealed she actually accepted the offer from Ohio State shortly after her unofficial visit but only made her decision known just recently. She said she is lucky to have a great group of friends and supporters that are proud of her.
At age eight is when she went from figure skating to hockey and as a tyke, she was supposed to rotate from position to position like the other kids. However, she quickly grew to like goaltending and didn't want to leave the net. After one year in house league in Amherstburg, she went to the travel team the next year before advancing to the Sun County hockey program. She spent six years with Sun County.
"Sun County developed me. That's where I improved my game. Thankfully the coaches gave me a shot," said Steffes. "Thanks to them for giving me that chance."
The Gr. 12 student was also on the A/P squad with the Amherstburg midget squad last year but didn't appear in a game due to conflicting schedules.
Steffes was supposed to be part of a Team Ontario squad that is currently in Surrey, British Columbia at the under-18 national championships but a concussion suffered roughly three weeks ago has kept her on the shelf. She learned Friday that she wasn't cleared to play.
The plan is to leave next August for Ohio State. Another goal for her is to one day play for Team Canada at the Olympics "and obviously win the gold medal."
