For most teenagers, the first day of senior year is more about “ruling the school” and towering over freshman than it is about college applications or SAT scores. Earning seniority in the parking lot and donning the hottest first-day trends will always outweigh thoughts of textbooks or quizzes.

Then again, if you’re a 17-year-old hockey standout who just returned from trying out for the 2010 Olympic Games, then your first day of senior year is actually all about textbooks and make-up quizzes.  

Kendall Coyne began her final year at Carl A. Sandburg HS three weeks late because she was invited to try out for the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team — a big offer for the 5’1”, 125-lb. forward from Palos Heights, IL.

Playing the male-dominated sport for almost 12 years now, Coyne certainly earned her place among the 41 other American girls vying for a spot on the 23-player roster. Though her luck at the tryouts would force Coyne to set her sights on the 2014 Games instead, her attitude about falling short of a Team USA jersey is far from gloomy.

“My dream is to one day make the Olympics," Coyne says without a hint of pessimism in her voice. "I came the closest I could come, without doing it, two weeks ago, so 2014 is always chilling in the back of my mind.”

Sounding curiously upbeat about her recent experience, it seems Coyne managed to tap into the life lessons she has earned from a life on the ice and instead, rejoin the rest of her Under-18 USA Hockey teammates in Calgary to finish out the season with a positive outlook.

It was really tough [to get back on the ice],” Coyne says offering a hint of vulnerability she hasn’t yet revealed until now. “It was a big turn around. I went from being the youngest player [at tryouts] with the woman’s team to one of the oldest players on the U-18 team. I just thought, 'I have to step up and be a leader now.'"

Since joining the USA Team her sophomore year, Coyne has honed much more than her leadership skills. Along with the maturity that comes with committing her time and energy to the same sport for 12 years, Coyne’s talent on the ice is what keeps her coming back for more.

Though her commitment to the sport has meant sacrificing the usual thrills of any teenager’s young life, Coyne has chosen this path and accepts the highs and lows that come with it. 

“It’s hard to live a typical high school life, but you have to stay focused,” Coyne says. “The professionalism of USA Hockey and Team USA is just unbelievable and they treat you like that, so they expect it back from you.”

Outside of hard work and dedication, being a member of USA Hockey also means rubbing elbows with the boys. In fact, outside of playing with her girls’ club team, Chicago Mission, Coyne also practices with the boys’ club two to three days a week.

Admitting that the boys’ game is more fast-paced, skilled and intense than the girls’, Coyne sheds light on the male-dominated sport and instead, debunks some common myths about girls playing a boys’ sport. 

“They’re all really great to me and have respect [for me],” Coyne says. “They don’t hit me or anything because they know why I’m out there. They treat me as if I am one of them.”

In fact, it’s not the boys that Coyne worries about facing at all, but her female opponents instead. Likely writhing with jealousy over Coyne’s standout ability, some of the girls Coyne has faced on the ice offer cheap shots to the rising star in recognition of her talent.

“The last two years people have been keying up on me,” Coyne says. “One time I got hit from behind, [she] broke my helmet, I got a concussion; it was just a dirty hit.”

Despite the downs that inevitably accompany the ups, Coyne is more than dedicated to this sport. As a senior, Coyne is entertaining scholarship offers from all of the Ivy League institutions; Harvard is at the top of her list. 

“I hope to get a good education and play D-1 hockey,” Coyne says with a foresight wise beyond her years.

After blogging for the USA Hockey Web site during her team’s championship game in Calgary, Coyne is considering a pursuit in Communications, but remains undecided at the moment. Hockey is the only thing she seems settled on when it comes to her future, and it’s clear why.

“I love this game, just when I get on the ice,” Coyne pauses to choose her words carefully. “If I didn’t feel like I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t do it. I just love everything about it."

No textbook or quiz can teach her that.