In the world of sports, hockey has proven to be a game unlike the rest, intriguing audiences with its competitive nature and luring in those who admire the fast pace and excitement of the game.

For people like CB South Varsity Forward Anthony Rubas, a love of the game was adopted at a young age. To this day, his passion for hockey has continued to grow even stronger.

At the age of four, Rubas was introduced to the sport when he was brought to a family friend’s hockey game. “I just fell in love with it,” he said. “From that day on I’ve played hockey.”

After seeing that one game, Rubas began watching hockey at home alongside his father, a long-time Flyers fan, who would explain the aspects of the game to him. With each of the games he watched and each of the hockey lessons he learned from his father, Rubas grew more interested and developed an admiration for the sport.

His career as a hockey player began with floor hockey for a year, followed by two years of inline roller hockey. Afterwards, he started to play actual ice hockey, which he has stuck with to this day.

“I just love the fast pace of the game and how quickly things can change,” Anthony explained. The game constantly requires the player to be on the move and ready for the quickest change, and that is what Anthony loves the most.

Over the past ten years Anthony has played on various teams: the Glaciers for eight years, the Wintersport Royals for a year, the Warwick Wildcats for a year, and even two years of roller hockey at Sportsplex in Feasterville. Currently, Anthony is only playing for the CB South Titans, since club hockey outside of school has not yet begun.

Playing on these teams has taken Rubas to all different places for games and tournaments, such as Niagara Falls, Boston, Lake Placid, and other various areas in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and even Virginia.

Most hockey players decide from a young age which position best suits them. However, for Rubas, one position simply wasn’t enough. He plays two very opposite positions: goaltender for club teams and forward for CB South.

Rubas enjoys the pressure of being a goalie because his team relies heavily on him, but he also said he likes having the opportunity to score goals. “There is no better feeling than seeing the puck hit the back of the net,” said Rubas.

When it comes to handling school and hockey, Rubas feels it isn’t too hard to manage both. With current practices only twice a week, Rubas’s advice as a hockey player is to simply set aside time for schoolwork.

“I’m a big procrastinator so I make it hard on myself sometimes,” Rubas said.

When it comes to club hockey and South hockey, Rubas made it clear which he enjoys more. “I really enjoy the traveling part of club hockey and seeing different places, but typically, I think I have more fun playing South hockey because of the fans. The fans are just crazy at South.”

Additionally, coaching is a huge part in determining the success for teams in hockey, and Anthony feels that Coach Tom Coyne for CB South will lead them to success. “He’s just got a lot of systems for playing that are going to make us better than any other team,” Rubas said.

Another aspect of Coyne’s coaching that Rubas admires is his willingness to let the team know if they make a mistake. “He’s not afraid to rip into us, but it usually helps us make sure we don’t make the same mistake again.”

To Rubas, South’s biggest strength this year is young talent—kids who will help replace the good players who have graduated. With that being said, the only improvement Rubas hopes to see in the team is the young players learning and adjusting to the system.

As far as his own performance goes, Rubas would simply like to improve his skating technique and perfect his ability to skate in any way he can. “Being a goalie for so long, I never skated too much,” he explained. “But this is my third season of playing forward for South, so I want to see my skating grow better as the season proceeds.”

When asked what he thought about the team’s performance in their first game against North Penn, Rubas felt it was a good win. “We played really well, and the fans helped us come out with a good start,” he said.

Regarding this upcoming season, Rubas is looking forward to the fans coming out and supporting the team, but even more so, the potential the team has this year. He said, “The talent is there, we just have to make it happen.”