Scholar Stories: Summers' Poise on Ice Key to Success in Biomolecular Science Studies
9/30/2020 10:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Kristy McNeil
University of Michigan ice hockey defenseman Jack Summers is not likely to get in your grill during a hockey game. For all the chirping that happens on the ice, he tends to stay above the fray.
There's not much that gets under his skin, though opponents have tried.
"I don't really get involved in that. I just push it to the side," Summers said, an on-brand answer if there ever was one. "It's how I've always been."
Summers is a quiet, go-about-your-business kind of guy, and that demeanor suits him well on the ice. Growing up in a hockey-crazy family, he first picked up a stick when was 4 years old. His father, Scott, grew up playing the sport, too, and loved it so much that he built the family its own personal skating rink during the winters in their back yard in Livonia, Mich.
It was Scott who took Jack to his first game at Yost Ice Arena. For a boy who loved hockey, being out on that ice, wearing that sweater, playing at Michigan became a dream worth chasing.
"For as long as I could remember, I always wanted to go to Michigan," Summers said. "I remember how electric the atmosphere was and how into the game the student section was. I remember seeing Chris Summers out there, and that he had the same last name as me. That stuck out."
The pathway to Michigan went through Kearney, Neb., home of the USHL's Tri-City Storm. His coach for a period: current Wolverines' associate head coach Bill Muckalt.
Muckalt left the Storm in 2017 to return to Ann Arbor, but the relationship the two developed on and off the ice paid dividends during the recruiting process. It certainly helped that Summers had a strong final year with the Storm, putting up 11 points in 58 games from the blue line during the 2017-18 season.
Through his first two years in Ann Arbor, Summers has been one of the team's most reliable defensemen. He has played in 65 games, scoring five goals and tallying 16 assists. More than that, he has one of the best plus-minus ratings on the team (+9) and has not been afraid of blocking shots (81).
The COVID-19 pandemic upended life for everyone, but it was especially painful for Summers and the Wolverines. After a 4-2 loss to Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational on New Years Eve, Michigan found itself with a 7-11-2 record, sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. But as soon as the calendar flipped to 2020, the Wolverines became a different team. They played excellent hockey over the next eight-plus weeks, going 11-3-2 to bring themselves to the brink of earning at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Only they never got the chance.
"I had never been a part of a team that was so close," Summers said. "It was the hardest for our seniors. They hadn't won the Big Ten, but I think we all believed we were going to do it. It was devastating. It was one of the hardest things we had to go through."
The Wolverines returned to the ice for practice last month. Playing a sport that requires a lot of contact is difficult when distancing is imperative to stopping the spread of a contagious virus. Still, the anticipation is building for whatever comes this season.
"It's probably the highest it's going to be," Summers explained. "We have a huge freshman class. They want to prove what they got. We're practicing as if we're playing."
COVID-19 also has fundamentally altered how classes are taken. Summers is majoring in biomolecular science, a path of study that is difficult under "normal" conditions. But because nearly everything on campus is being conducted virtually, the level of difficulty is ratcheted up.
"I don't like it," Summers says, bluntly. "I learn better in-person. It's hard sitting in my room all day, rotating from one Zoom meeting to another. It's definitely really hard."
Imagine learning about genetics or organic chemistry over an internet connection. Despite the grind, Summers has a pretty good idea where he is going professionally.
"I want to go the route of pharmaceutical research," he said, noting that if a career in professional hockey doesn't play out, he will focus on physician assistant school or medical school. "I'm really interested in drug design and how drugs interact with the body. It's so interesting how it all works."
Though this year has been unorthodox in more ways than one can count, Summers manages to keep everything in perspective. The entire ride has been a dream come true.
"It's pretty indescribable," he said. "I wake up some days and can't believe I'm actually here. Walking through campus, seeing buildings that have been here for decades and knowing that I'm following in the footsteps of all the great people that have played before me, I can't put it into words. I'm not taking anything for granted. Whenever I have the opportunity to put on that sweater, I want to make the most of it."
