Life beyond the rink: Sun Devil Hockey players share experience as student-athletes

6 minutes

 

Gibson Homer, #31, stands and defends ASU's goal against the LIU Sharks on March 1, 2024. | Photo courtesy of Jr De Chavez

 

Have you ever wondered what life is like as a student-athlete at Arizona State University? For some, it includes a rigorous practice and game schedule, two twin hamsters and a TikTok cooking hobby. 

Sun Devil Hockey has been taking the league by storm this season with 20 wins under their belt. In their home at Mullett Arena, Sun Devils can watch the team face off against opponents with impressive goalkeeping and powerful shooting. However, while it is important to recognize their remarkability as athletes, it is just as important to remember that these players are also Sun Devil students off the ice. 

Tucker Ness, a second-year student studying communication at the College of Integrated Sciences and Arts, is a defenseman for Sun Devil Hockey. Gibson Homer, a goalie for the team, is a sophomore studying economics at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Both players sat down to discuss who they are as student-athletes at ASU. 

In his own words, Ness has been playing hockey for as long as he can remember.  

“I first started skating as soon as I could walk,” Ness said. “My dad played in college, and my older brother also played, so I was kind of born into it.” 

As student-athletes, Homer and Ness have different day-to-day schedules than most Sun Devils. On practice days, the team wakes up around 7 a.m. and prepares for a morning of workouts and reps. Before hitting the ice, players will work in time for rehabilitation and taping up their sticks. 

“We’ll have a positional skate normally at 9 a.m., and then we’ll have team practice at 10 a.m.,” Ness said. “After, we go home and play a little Xbox with the boys and chill out before doing homework. We have hamsters at home, too, so we’ll hang out with those little girls for a bit.” 

Homer and Ness did not initially intend to be co-parents to the two female hamsters, but they cherish them nonetheless. 

The hamsters started as a gift for their fellow Sun Devil Hockey players. For the team’s annual Secret Santa party, Ness and teammate Jackson Niedermayer drew the names of Ty and Dylan Jackson, fourth-year twins from Ontario, Canada. 

“We went to Petsmart and got these twin hamsters,” Ness said. “We named them Tyra and Delaney, for Ty and Dylan. When we gave them to the twins, they didn’t really want them, so Gibby and I take care of them.” 

“Now they’re ours,” Homer added. “We love them.” 

Game days, traditionally on Fridays or the weekends, are more organized. The team readies themselves for a pregame skate at 11 a.m. by warming up and getting out on the ice by 10 a.m. 

“One of our pre-game rituals is that we set up two speakers in our locker room,” Ness said. “Right when 4 p.m. hits, they are on full blast while we’re putting on our suits. We will normally play rap, something along the lines of Quavo or Migos.” 

When asked about how they handle life as both students and athletes at ASU, Homer and Ness answered differently. 

“For me personally, I like taking classes with a couple other guys on the team,” Ness said. “That way we can sit together and get it done quickly. It motivates me a little bit more. I don’t like to procrastinate. I try to get all my stuff done for the week. That way, I do not have to worry about it come Friday and Saturday with our games.” 

On the other hand, Homer enjoys classroom settings that introduce him to other Sun Devils. 

“I kind of like being in classes without guys on the team,” Homer said. “Just to get that full student feel of going to class and meeting new people. Having that life away from the rink and hockey is really important.”

Outside of their academic and athletic schedules, players like Homer and Ness have their fair share of hobbies. Ness spends his time enjoying the golf scene in Arizona. Homer, on the other hand, finds no shortage of outdoor activities to enjoy in Tempe. 

“Just being in Arizona is nice,” Homer said. “I’m from the Midwest, too, out in Michigan. There is no lack of things to do at any time of year with all the hikes.” 

Homer also attested to being a bit of an amateur cinephile. 

“I watch a lot of movies,” Homer said. “Kind of a thing that I am into.” 

Beyond their pastimes, Homer and Ness developed a shared passion for cooking over the summer. The pair started switching off cooking meals for one another in their shared apartment. 

“I think it is definitely important to have those hobbies away from the rink,” Homer said. “Cooking is something fun, something easy and something you can enjoy once you are done by, obviously, eating it. Anything that takes my mind away from the rink, I love doing.”

On Ness’s TikTok account, Homer and Ness filmed and edited a video titled “Cooking with 5095, Episode One.” Cut with ambient shots of candles and slow-motion clips of food poured into a pan, the pair makes undeniably entertaining content. In that specific episode, Homer and Ness cooked shrimp fried rice (and practiced their food-tossing skills, too). 

“We dive pretty deep into the TikTok food channels and cooking channels, just finding some crazy recipes to try out,” Homer said. 

“It will be midnight,” Ness added, “and we will sit on our phones and send each other recipes back and forth.” 

Not only has the cooking hobby become a common ground for the two roommates, but they also started involving the rest of their team. 

“We have a nice setup rooftop at our apartment building,” Ness said. “We had all the first-years over there and a couple of transfer students. We barely even knew them before but got together, grilled some burgers and had a good time. It was great to get to know everyone, and that brought our group together a bit.”

When asked what the winning team has been doing well this past season, Homer pointed out how close-knit the Sun Devil Hockey team is on and off the ice.

“Our group is not just close at the rink,” Homer said. “We eat pretty much every meal together, and all the guys live in the same apartment building as us. Just knowing that you have that group of guys that are your best friends and will be your best friends for life is great.” 

This sense of community also translates to their time during games. 

“I want to block a shot for Gibby if I can,” Ness said. “I do whatever I can for the guy next to me, and I know they’re doing the same thing for me. I think that’s why we are doing so well right now. We have such a close group with great culture.” 

To see Ness, Homer and the rest of our Sun Devil Hockey squad, check the upcoming game schedule here!