Olympic silver medalist Kendall Coyne returns home to Palos South and West

"Find what you love and go out there and do it," was the message U.S. Olympic Women's Hockey silver medalist Kendall Coyne gave to Palos South Middle School students when she came for a visit on St. Patrick's Day. South welcomed Coyne back to her alma mater with an assembly held in her honor, where she encouraged the young crowd to follow their dreams.  Coyne also paid a surprise visit to Palos West this morning, where she attended elementary school from kindergarten through eighth grade.

In her address to the students at South, Coyne reminisced about her most memorable times at Palos South where she graduated in 2006, fondly recalling the floor hockey unit in PE class, enjoying the Trash Can Band music assembly, and taking Spanish for the first time. She encouraged the young audience, "Don't be afraid to try something new.  You may love it or hate it but unless you'll try it, you'll never know."    

Her former PE teacher at South, Roy Bullard introduced his former student.  "She has been an exceptional young lady long before she achieved Olympic fame....number 26 on the ice, but number one in our hearts." During the assembly, Coyne participated in a shoot-out with 18 lucky students, and shot autographed tshirts into the crowd. Afterwards, she spent time throughout all three lunch periods visiting with students, signing autographs, and posing for pictures.  They all had the opportunity to see the silver medal up close, but were most impressed by how much it weighed.  

"Its been overwhelming coming back to Palos South, a place where I attended for three years," said Coyne.  "It's really special to me to see how excited all the kids are."

To show support for Coyne competing in the winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, students and staff throughout Palos 118 were able to purchase USA Hockey tshirts with Coyne's name and number on the back.  At the assembly, she was presented with a check for $1,200 in proceeds from the tshirt sales for the For Julie Foundation, a charity close to the Coyne family's heart.  The foundation was established in memory of Julianne Doody, a 13 year old girl who died in July of 2002, less than 14 weeks after being diagnosed with acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), an aggressive form of cancer.  She was a close friend of the Coyne family.   

She had the same message of hope and determination when she surprised the the younger set at West.  The students thought they were being gathered into the gym for a regular rewards assembly, and were thrilled to have an Olympian speak to them and answer their questions.  Coyne especially stressed how important it was to do well in school, as well as the activities they loved.  "I wasn't allowed to go to hockey unless I did my homework first," recalled Coyne, "And if I didn't do well and behave well in school, I couldn't play in my games." 

Coyne attends and plays hockey for Northeastern University in Boston where she is majoring in communications and minoring in Spanish.  She took a hiatus from classes to train for the Olympics and fulfill a graduation requirement of serving an internship.  Coyne began her's earlier this month with the Chicago Blackhawks in media relations.