August 17, 2005
TC grad pursues college hockey goal
Tiffany Homant wins scholarship from AAA team
By
Herald staff writer
Tiffany Homant is one step closer to achieving her dream - playing Division I collegiate hockey - thanks to a scholarship provided by the Ilitch Charities for Children.
Homant, who graduated from Traverse City Central High School this spring, received a $5,000 scholarship as the winner of the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Scholarship. The scholarship honors outstanding high school male and female athletes and provides each with a scholarship toward the college of their choice.
To qualify for the scholarship, students are required to write an essay, have a 3.0 grade point average or above, be a current member of the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club and have plans to attend a college or university within the next three years.
Homant, who played for the Little Caesar's 19-and-under team in Detroit last year, got her hockey start playing for the Grand Traverse Hockey Association. With a background in figure skating, she began playing hockey with a girl's team in fourth-grade but rapidly progressed to playing with the boys.
"I wasn't well received at first by most of my male teammates who feared for their 'macho' reputation, so I gratefully accepted my first opportunity to be a member of Traverse City's first women's travel hockey team," said Homant in the winning essay that outlines her hockey career.
Homant was one of the original "Bay Home Medical Habs" women's travel team that debuted in 2000, winning the Grand Traverse Hockey Association's first state championship after only their first year of play. The team took the state title again in 2002 and 2004.
With many of her teammates graduating and leaving the team, Homant decided to try out for the Little Caesar's AAA hockey team, based out of Detroit at the end of her junior year. After earning a spot on the team, Homant was faced with the difficult decision to leave her home and live with relatives in the Detroit area.
"I was overwhelmed at first because it felt like I would be sacrificing more than I thought bearable," said Homant, who accepted the offer and moved in with family members in the Detroit area. She spent the first half of her senior year attending Stevenson High School in the Utica school district and playing for the Little Caesar's team before graduating from Central.
With her college career looming before her, Homant decided to stick to her dreams of playing Division I hockey, rather than attending a smaller school with a Division III team. Homant will attend Wayne State University in the fall and plans to try out for the only Division I women's hockey team in the state as a walk on. With a back-up plan in place, she will play for the Little Caesars 19-and-under team for one more year, hoping to gain the experience she needs for Division I play.
"Tiffany is just such a dedicated and determined kid. She doesn't make a big deal of her accomplishments, but she earned this," said her mother, Ashley Homant.