WSN: Welcome back, everyone. I’m Sidney Snider, the Sports Editor at the Washington Square News. I’m joined here today with Yam Yau, a freshman on the NYU men’s ice hockey team. Thanks for sitting down with me, Yam. 

Yau : Thank you for welcoming me. 

WSN: So you just returned from China, correct? 

Yau : Yeah. 

WSN: Can you tell us what you were doing there?

Yau : So I participated in the Asian Winter Games, which is an event like every four years, just like the Olympics, and then all the countries — you know, all around Asia — participate in their sports like ice hockey, like skiing, like, you know, alpine, like whatever winter sport there is.

WSN: So, how did you get selected for that team? 

Yau : So, well I guess like for me, like I grew up in Hong Kong, I’ve been playing since I was three, so I’ve also had like a really good relationship with like, you know, all the coaches and everyone. But then I came here. I went to high school in Boston when I was 14, but like, every summer I would go back [to Hong Kong], play with the guys. So, you know, they kind of, like during the selection process, like, they knew who I am, they knew if I could contribute to the team or not. So then, like, I talked to them for a bit, they were like, you know, are you free to come play? I was like, yeah, absolutely, like, you know, it would be my honor to play. 

WSN: Awesome. So how long were you in China for the games? 

Yau : Well, we started in Japan. We had, like, a training camp for like a week in Japan. And then we were there in China for two weeks, I would say. Well, it depends on like how far we made it, but like we, uh, lost in the quarters. So, right after that, it was over. But, yeah, it was around two weeks. 

WSN: Did you miss a lot of school for that? 

Yau : Yeah, I did. Just catching up with a lot of work right now, in terms of this week, so, yeah, just a lot of catching up.

WSN: Yeah, a little rough. So, how did it feel to be back in China playing hockey with these people that you grew up with and you’ve been playing with for so long? 

Yau : Yeah, I think it’s honestly like surreal. We haven’t — there’s a lot of guys, cause like, you know, apart from me, there’s also kids where I, I, like, I started playing with them since I was 5, I’ve known them since I was 5. But then, they also go to school, you know, in the US, Canada, whatever. So, I haven’t seen them in, like, three, four years. And, we all came together and played. And it was fun, you know; we, like, talked about all the memories we had when we were young. 

It was just a great time, but like our age gap in our group, — our oldest was also like 35, so there was a big age gap. But um, you know, it was like a good balance. You know, the older guys, obviously, like we look up to them. They’re kind of like role models and we’re kind of like the immature ones, but like, you know, it balances out. 

WSN: Yeah, totally. Coming back to New York, so you played in high school in Boston. How did you decide on NYU? What was the trial process like for the hockey team here? 

Yau : Well, I think, I was thinking of going to juniors first to play hockey. But, in my junior year of high school, I started dislocating my shoulder. So…and then I did surgery once, and then I managed to, like, you know, dislocate it again now. So, that’s kind of like a deal breaker [for], like, you know, going to juniors. I was like, okay, like I don’t really want to do this anymore. I don’t want to keep hurting my shoulder. I want to, like, go to college first. And then NYU has been one of my, like, you know — it’s been one of my dream schools. It’s really similar to Hong Kong in the matter of like city, the city, like the crowded, like — cause I just love crowded places. I couldn’t do it myself in the suburbs. It’s just too quiet for me. And then I reached out to the coach. I sent him, like, tapes. And then we came two weeks early before school started. We had like a whole trial process, and then, yeah. There, like, I got selected, now I’m on the team.

WSN: How has that community been for you with the team, having kind of like a built in friend group coming into college?

Yau : I would say it’s definitely one of the closest friend groups I have. You know, every day or at least like, you know, well, at least Tuesday, Thursday when we practice, we see each other. Friday, Saturday, we’re out for games, we’re always together. And even like, you know, it’d be like Friday nights after like, you know, after a game we’re tired, whatever. We just go like, you know, we go hang out together as a team. And then, you know, it’s gotten to the point where like, you know, a month in, we started like studying together. It’s kind of like a daily thing. So I mean it’s been great. 

WSN: Yeah, that’s awesome. So when you started playing hockey when you were 3, you were also playing a bunch of other sports. When did you kind of decide that hockey was the one you were gonna go with?

Yau : So, I grew up playing, I grew up doing, I did track, I did volleyball. I did rowing, I did hockey. I did, I did baseball and then I guess roller hockey. So…And then it was, it was hard. Like, you know, it was a…everything was a big time commitment. Like I had to share my time between everything. But I knew, like, growing up, like, I didn’t want it to be like an individual sport. So right then and there swimming was gone for me. I just felt like, boring, you know, like I wanted to like talk to the guys. And then as I, like, you know, when I was maybe 7 or 8, I just started to realize I enjoy playing hockey more than anything. And it’s more of like, the excitement that goes — you know, the head rush that goes into it when you’re like, gliding on the ice, like, you know, when the wind just hits your face, you know, when you’re back on the bench, you’re talking to the guys. Like, I just think it’s a really, like, great atmosphere. Going around, you see your parents supporting you, and, so yeah, I was like, yeah, this is the one for me.  

WSN: All right. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. We really appreciate you talking.