Payton Monusky, a dedicated student-athlete and senior at a prestigious hockey boarding school, the North American Hockey Academy, officially announced her commitment to play ice hockey at Trinity College on Sept. 27 via Instagram. While she currently attends NAHA, and has since her junior year, Monusky is a proud Westfield student who has played alongside the girls ice hockey team, and once returning in March, will continue her position as the girls lacrosse goalie, a position she has played since her freshman year.
Monusky’s hockey journey began at the age of seven, where she fell in love with the sport. She began playing locally at Union Thunder, then worked her way up to the New Jersey Colonials, where she played for three years. Ultimately, she landed at the Philadelphia Junior Flyers her junior year, which was a four hour round trip commitment.
“Driving four hours every night to go to practice was definitely not ideal, and was a lot to balance with school, sports and my mental health. I think that’s when I realized it was finally time for a change,” said Monusky.
This change ended up being NAHA, which “was the best choice [she] could’ve ever made.”
NAHA is an all girls ice hockey boarding school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts, just 12 miles outside of Boston. Its training facilities and off-ice workout areas are perfect for any student hoping to be seen by colleges. Their program is also incredibly competitive: Monusky said, “All of the students here have a like mindset. We all want to be recruited for the sport we love.”
Monusky also noted, though, that even though the hockey program is one of a kind and extremely impressive, the transition back to WHS is not always the easiest. At NAHA, Monusky simply attends one class in the morning from 9:20 to 10:20, has practice from 10:30 to 12:30 and then lifts until 3:00. This greatly differs from a near seven hour school day at WHS.
Monusky’s roommate and teammate at NAHA, Annie Gilbertson, has gotten to know her on a deeper level and has gained a firsthand look at her life outside of Westfield.
Gilbertson said, “One thing that makes her such a special person is how much work and effort she puts in when people are not looking or noticing. No matter if it’s practice or games, or in school, she is putting in the work. She’s a very caring person and deeply cares about her friends. She always wants the best for other people and puts other people first for a lot of cases.”
Gilbertson also emphasized how Monusky isn’t an average team player, describing her as a supportive and caring person. She said, “I think one thing that makes Payton stand out as both a hockey player and a person is her energy. I think it is contagious on the ice and off the ice. On the ice she is very vocal and lifts others up. She loves to bring all the other girls up, especially if someone is having a bad game, which is something that every team teams. Her positive energy and outlook gets her very far, and her energy is overall one thing that makes her stand out the most.”
As Monusky prepares to take the next step in her hockey career at Trinity, her commitment represents all the sacrifices she has made and the changes she has had to take to embrace to reach this goal.
