TOWAMENCIN – Luke VanWhy’s personality is more introverted than extroverted, so much to the point that you might not even know he has been starting on North Penn’s varsity ice hockey team since his freshman year. 

“When I was around four-years-old, my dad took me out to Hatfield Ice a couple of times and I was just a natural skater. I went out there, had fun, and I just stayed with the sport,” the junior explained. 

VanWhy’s first experiences on a hockey team was when he was six years old when he started playing Youth In-House at Hatfield Ice. 

“When I started off I was a normal player, there was nothing that made me stand out. But as time went on I started getting better. I worked hard just like my washer works hard, but you also have to compete to be good,” VanWhy said. 

When VanWhy first started playing hockey, he didn’t have any key features that him set him apart from other kids on the ice. With that being said, the height of 5’7” does not help with that dilemma. 

“Starting on defense with my height, people tend to underestimate me. Other teams will see me and think to themselves, he can’t be that good. But I’ll show them what I can do. And that goes with other people on the team. Some kids on the team are smaller than usual, like me, Tyler Greenstein and Josh Kaufhold; We’re not really big, but we’re better than most people,” VanWhy explained.

Being really good at a sport can cause some unwanted attention for someone who tends to more of a closed book. But VanWhy’s site is set on his goal and that is to be the best he can be for the team and himself. 

“I don’t go out of my way to make friends. I don’t talk much. I am definitely more introverted than extroverted. But the people who do know me and who are close to me know that I tend to become extroverted as soon as I am comfortable. But I am not really worried about what other people think,” said VanWhy. 

Besides being on North Penn’s ice hockey team, VanWhy currently plays for the Valley Forge Minutemen. His club team was once ranked 6th in the country and is currently ranked 40th. 

“Being on a top ten club team in the country was a huge accomplishment in my eyes. The opportunities exposed to me were so beneficial towards my goal, which is to ultimately play hockey on the collegiate level. And truth be told, I am confident in my ability to do so,” explained VanWhy.

Hockey season has just begun with the Knights holding a 2-1 record and VanWhy has been one of the main guys leading the way as his eyes are set on a conference championship and to have his name be a threat to any team the Knights go up against.