St. Thomas student earns U of M athletic scholarship
by Adam Gault
Thursday, June 13 was a special day for grade 12 St. Thomas of Villanova student, Kim Primeau, as representatives from the University of Michigan were on hand to officially offer her an athletic scholarship to play hockey at their Dearborn campus.
“My family’s always been [University of] Michigan fans, so I’m just really excited to get to go there,” the 18-year-old hockey defence-woman, who turned forward, explained. “They get to experience it too, so they’ll have a lot of fun with that.”
Having taken to the ice at three-years-old, Primeau’s exceptional hockey development and academic success caught the eyes of the University of Michigan Women’s Hockey Coach, Tim Ames, this past season, who recognized that the Maidstone resident would make an excellent addition to the venerated school’s varsity hockey program.
“We loved her skills, great hands, great hockey knowledge, a lot of determination. To grow as a player, she’s going to be excellent,” Ames explained. “We found her through some videos online, and then we scouted the [St. Thomas of Villanova] team that she’s played on here. She’s going to fit right in and step into the regular lineup and we’ll use her daily.”
Primeau, who will be enrolled in the Cognitive Science program for her undergraduate at the university, knows that the partial scholarship will go a long way in helping develop as both an academic and an athlete.
“I hope to get event better than I am, just to get to another level, get stronger physically and still get a good education out of it,” Primeau said. “I want to thank my parents and all the coaches that got me here. They were a big help.”
Among all the friends and former teammates that joined Primeau in Villanova’s atrium for the morning ceremony, her biggest supporters, parents Phil and Amanda, couldn’t be prouder of what their daughter has\ accomplished in her journey towards ice time at one of America’s premier athletic institutions.
“It’s a big honour. She’s worked hard and had a lot of great teammates through the years, a lot of great coaching,” her mother, Amanda, said. “She’s worked really hard. It’s her first love.”
Primeau will continue to train and work with university officials throughout the summer, before she takes the ice for the University of Michigan at the Fieldhouse Arena this coming September.