When Mitch Hooker was a senior in high school, doctors told him he would never be able to kick a soccer ball again.

Hooker had ruptured two discs in his back while carrying 50-pound bags of feed at a hardware store in his hometown of Richfield Springs, New York. He was on his couch for a month and couldn’t move.

But even worse, doctors told the lifelong athlete that he should stop playing sports.

Hooker didn’t listen and is now one of the best players on State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s timber team. During practices, Hooker can be seen holding an ax high above his head and bringing it back over his body in one fluid motion, making quick, crisp chops into blocks of wood.

“I guess this probably isn’t the best sport for me, but I really like it,” Hooker said.

Hooker’s back healed in a one-year hiatus from sports. When he felt better, he started playing intramural soccer and didn’t feel pain. So when he heard about the timber team at SUNY-ESF, he didn’t hesitate — and is now working toward the team’s spring meet, which it refers to as its “super bowl.”

“I came here and was just like, ‘You know what, I’ll just go for it,’” Hooker said.

Outdoor activities have been a part of Hooker’s identity for as long as he can remember.

Growing up in Richfield Springs, which he described as the middle of nowhere, he only had three television channels. So he spent most of his free time running around his family’s 360-acre backyard, splitting wood and riding around on a tractor. But his background didn’t make him a great timber athlete right off the bat.

Stephen Tramposch, Hooker’s doubles partner on the timber team, remembers seeing him struggle during his first few practices.

“No one really knows what they’re doing when they first start,” Tramposch said. “But it’s been cool to see him pick things up.”

ESF head coach Jason Schenck saw Hooker’s strong work ethic and results soon showed. After a few months of practice, Hooker was able to do events such as the ax cut faster than most other players. At the spring meet last year, he placed fourth in a stock saw event. In a meet last month at Finger Lakes Community College, he placed third in a chopping event.

“He got into the sport really quick and was really interested in it,” Schenck said. “… I could tell he was a hard worker.”

And Hooker has also been a selfless teammate.

Last year, SUNY-ESF had no one to represent it in a burling event, which has players balance on a spinning log, at a competition at Paul Smith’s College in Brighton, New York, so Hooker volunteered. Conditions for his first time attempting the event were not ideal — it was snowing heavily and temperatures hit 20 degrees.

Since Hooker was rushing from one singles event down to the burling site, he didn’t have time to change and was forced to do the event in shorts.

“It was so cold you couldn’t pick up and get your feet on the log,” Hooker said. “It was like everything was numb.”

Schenck said Hooker continues to look out for everyone, especially younger players, and focuses on helping them improve their techniques whenever he can.

With all the time he spends teaching teammates, climbing up trees, rolling on logs and chopping blocks of wood, one would think Hooker’s back might get irritated again.

While he admits it hurt when he first started timber competition, the injury that was supposed to stop him from playing sports forever is now the last thing on his mind.

“When I first started chopping, I could definitely feel it,” Hooker said. “But honestly, now I don’t even think about it.”

Published on November 11, 2014 at 12:02 am