West Lebanon
Singleton announced late last month via Twitter that he’ll be joining the men’s hockey program at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in time for the 2018-19 season. A spring graduate of Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., Singleton will spend this winter playing junior hockey in New Jersey to prepare for the jump to NCAA Division I play.
Of course, beyond that is the knowledge that, should he complete his four years at West Point, he’ll be giving his following five years to the Army, in whatever capacity he develops. Singleton is greeting the possibilities with open eyes.
“I couldn’t have said no to the opportunity that comes with it,” the West Lebanon native said this week. “I talked to my family and close friends, and they thought it was the best decision for me.
“You serve five years; you give it back to the school for them giving you everything. I’m going in with a positive attitude. I didn’t honestly think of myself as a military guy, but just the opportunity it holds is unbelievable.”
The Black Knights will get a player who’s grown by leaps and bounds since leaving Lebanon High for PA three years ago. Longtime Hornets coach Michael Walsh is sending a forward whose energy level and skill should adapt to Division I competition, even if he’s not the largest guy in town.
“It’s a great accomplishment; it speaks to the progress Tate has made at Proctor,” said Walsh, the Hornets’ 15th-year head coach. “It’s really not only as an athlete, but as a student and a young man. For him to be aware of what kind of opportunity there is for him at Army, it speaks volumes for how he’s kind of grown.”
Singleton had the potential to be an influential skater at Lebanon High. He put it on display as a sophomore in 2013-14, leading in goals (17), assists (13) and points (30) on a 9-13-1 squad. Singleton also knew he’d probably have to move on to a higher level of play if he was to realize his hockey aspirations.
Additionally, he had to move beyond the notion of being something of “a jokester.”
“I liked to have fun; I wasn’t as serious,” admitted Singleton, who carried a 3.50 grade-point average as a boarding student at Proctor. “Once I went to a school that had structure and wanted you to succeed, that stuck with me. Then I kept getting better and better. I became a better person, a better friend, a better teammate, a better leader. Proctor is the reason why I became a better person.”
Walsh felt he needed to give Singleton’s energy a focus if he was going to make the most of his skills.
“He needed a little reining, from a coaching standpoint,” Walsh said. “I love to have that kind of a challenge, with a kid with a motor that’s going all the time and wants to compete and win. He had all of the tools; it was just a matter of reining in the focus and helping him develop a practice routine, a locker room routine, a game routine.”
Singleton amassed a career-high 26 goals and 51 points as the Hornets went 17-12-1 last winter, winning the Lakes Region League championship. Proctor also made the NEPSAC large-school tournament, losing to Connecticut’s Avon Old Farms in the quarterfinals.
Singleton drew interest from two of Army’s rivals in Atlantic Hockey, Bentley and Holy Cross, along with St. Lawrence, but none resonated. Brian Riley, West Point’s 14th-year head coach, contacted Singleton at the start of the summer, and things progressed quickly.
Singleton said he was floored by his visit to the West Point campus, particularly the architecture. As impressed as he was, he wanted to wait a couple of weeks before making his decision. He gave his verbal OK late last month.
“I remember the coach telling my parents that they wanted me to come next year (2017-18),” Singleton said. “The look on my parents’ faces was like, ‘Wow.’ That will stick with me.”
The 18-year-old also didn’t have to go far to get a scouting report on a military life. His father, Jon, enlisted in the Navy in the late 1980s, working with aircraft flight controls and avionics in the branch’s first commissioned FA-18 fighter squadron, based in Jacksonville, Fla. The elder Singleton’s Navy stint included an eight-month assignment aboard the USS Coral Sea, a since-decommissioned aircraft carrier.
“I had a big sitdown with him, and he gave me the ins and outs of the military, what it will take and what I need to do and how to improve myself,” Singleton said. “It was great to hear from a guy who was in the military before who experienced basic training. To hear that experience is crazy. I can’t wait to be out there.”
Until then, the hockey education continues. Singleton will join the New Jersey Titans of the North American Hockey League for a year of Tier II junior-level seasoning before reporting to West Point next summer. It’s apparently a fruitful recruiting source for Riley; 10 of the skaters on this coming season’s Army roster hail from the NAHL, including five incoming freshmen.
Not especially large at 5-foot-9 and 184 pounds, Singleton recalled once, back in his youth hockey days, meeting Dartmouth forward Eric Przepiorka at a Big Green game and gaining encouragement from a player of similar stature. Singleton has since reconnected with Przepiorka, now a hockey coach and teacher at New Hampton, through a men’s hockey league outside of Manchester.
“I’m a small guy, and he told me he was small, too,” Singleton said. “He said, ‘Keep working at it; prove them all wrong.’ That stuck with me and motivated me to this point.
“It’s fun playing against him. I’ve definitely talked to him about it. He laughs about it. Great memories.”
More are potentially on the way.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.