Most fathers can only dream of their children following in their footsteps. For Ed MacDermaid, that dream has become a reality.
Katie MacDermaid didn’t know where she wanted to go to university, but her father mentioned his alma matter, St. Thomas University, and she decided to check it out. She’s glad she did.
“He’s proud of me. We have a little bond now,” she said.
Her father came to STU to play hockey. He really had no intention of going to school until he got a call and was asked to be on the Tommies men’s hockey team. He stayed for five years, getting his bachelor of arts and his bachelor of education.
“I was tired of school, so I went to work at the bank. I worked for the bank for that summer and in September I got a phone call from Jene Gaudet and he asked me if I was interested in going to university and playing hockey,” said MacDermaid.
“I said, ‘Yes, please.’”
MacDermaid was inducted into the STU Sports Wall of Fame along with his fellow teammates from the 1966-67 men’s hockey team on Oct. 14. Mary Lou (Wolstenholme) Foreman, Nicole (Badry) Holubowich, William McMullin and Greg Morris were also part of the induction class of 2017.
MacDermaid was upset when the men’s hockey team was cut, but he said it was inevitable because of the way the Atlantic schools have developed.
“It’s difficult to compete when all of the other schools have 23 and 24-year-olds all [Quebec Junior Major Hockey League] or [Ontario Hockey League] players and so on.”
He was happy when his daughter took to hockey when she was younger. He built a rink in their yard when she was little so that she and her siblings could practice. He said she just wanted to play and have fun.
“She loved it. She loved to play, and she didn’t care if they won or if she scored or whatever. She just loved to play,” said MacDermaid.
Now, the third-year student said she’s very thankful for hockey. It taught her so much and helped her to become a better athlete in the other sports she plays. She was sad when she had to stop playing because of the lack of leagues in her area. When she stopped playing, girls from her hometown of Bathurst were driving to Moncton or Fredericton just to play.
She said playing has helped her to become a better soccer player, which she’s been playing since she was a little kid. She now plays on the Tommies’ women’s soccer team as a centre midfield. She’s very grateful to be playing, she said, but it’s not easy.
“Being a student athlete has helped me to be efficient. My family has been a good support system,” she said.
MacDermaid said she finds school work can be a bit of a break from soccer with all of her practices and games.
She grew up in an active household where she and all of her siblings played sports and they have had a big impact on both her and her father’s life.
Her father said soccer has been good for her, and while she was sad she couldn’t play in her first year, she was smart to wait and get her feet on the ground and get used to school before she started.
She’s very happy to have her family’s support, especially her father’s. She’s very proud to say he was just inducted into the Wall of Fame.
“He’s had a huge impact on me, almost as much, if not more so, than sports.”
