WCHS Junior Wins Goalie Award In Fort WayneLiving in the heart of Hoosier Hysteria and high school basketball, Steven Vlot has chose a different athletic path.
The junior at Warsaw Community High School stays away from the hardwood and prefers a much colder atmosphere when competing. Vlot decided to play hockey at a young age and has continued to play ever since.
He currently plays for the Bishop Dwenger High School team.
“I tried all the other sports and didn’t really get into or like them,” he said. “Hockey was up next on my list of sports to try, and I go to Fort Wayne Komets games a lot and thought it’d be cool to try it.”
On the ice, Vlot is the Saints’ goalie and has etched his name as one of the league’s best. This past season, he was won the goaltender championship, which translates to being the best goalie in the league of six teams. He was just under a .900 save percentage this year while protecting the net.
Vlot was given an opportunity to be a goalie during a game at a young age and decided not to leave.
“Every kid had a chance to play and I loved it more than the other positions on the ice,” he said.
The league consists of schools from Fort Wayne. Alongside Dwenger are Carroll, Leo, Homestead, Northrop and Snider to form the Fort Wayne Amateur Hockey Association.
Since Vlot is not from Fort Wayne, he had to go through the high school draft process to be selected by a team. The coaches meet in a room and talk about the available players in the area and decide which one will be on a team.
Vlot doesn’t have to make the trek to Fort Wayne alone. Warsaw junior Grant Wagner is also on the team as a forward.
The goalie’s schedule is packed with school, practice, games, FFA, 4H goat club and working at Meijer three times a week, but he balances it well.
“You have to be dedicated to it.” he said. “I have to go to Fort Wayne three times a week, plus some weekend games. It’s time consuming, but i love it.”
Dwenger lost to the Columbus Icemen on Sunday in the Indiana playoffs, ending its season, but that won’t keep Vlot off the ice. As other players may take time off to relax, he’s visiting goalie camps and private coaching clinics in Fort Wayne a few times per week.
All the work he’s putting into hockey, Vlot has aspirations of playing beyond high school. He has his eyes set on playing in college or the junior league, which is a tier in between high school and college in skill level.
“I’m not going to stop at high school,” said Vlot.
