Taylor Craig Carves A Niche of Her Own



Taylor Craig is a senior at the prestigious Tabor Academy in Marion and the assist leader of the varsity girls' ice hockey team, ranking 1oth in New England.

She has played on national teams with Olympians and just committed to play Division 1 hockey at Colgate University.

Oh yeah, her dad, is Jim Craig, the USA Olympic goaltender on the 1980 gold medaling "Miracle on Ice" team.

Jim Craig grew up in Easton and played at Oliver Ames and has been here all his life, leaving a hockey legacy that will never be forgotten,

Now, his daughter is creating her own legacy.

Jim Craig has been Taylor's coach from the beginning, but not because he wanted his daughter to follow in his footsteps.

He wanted to help her find her own.

Many parents and coaches, "drive the passion out of the child before they know what passion is," said Jim Craig. "I want to be facilitator of their enjoyment and passion."

Because of his hockey experience and background, Craig felt coaching Taylor would be the best way for him as father to help her realize her passion. That passion is what takes players to the next level.

Taylor didn't start playing hockey just because her father and older brother, James, played   She entered the world of hockey on her own terms.

"Taylor has always been a very natural athlete," said her father. "The second she was born, the second she was born, she was very competitive."

While watching one of her brother's hockey practices, a five-year-old Taylor took to the rink and impressed her brother's coaches, her dad, and Vladimir Lutchenko, a three-time gold medalist and arguably one of the defenseman in the history of the Soviet Union hockey team. The coaches only had to watch Taylor skate around the rink once to know she was going to be something special.

"She had great vision, and still does," Craig said. "She had an ability to always be near the puck and her timing was so natural."

As a coach, Craig always emphasized collective winning and focused specifically on the team over individual achievement. If anything, he admits, he was harder on his daughter than the rest. But in the end, his philosophy is to pull the passion out of his players because a true team is a collection of every player's strengths.

"A coach should pull greatness out of them, not drive it out of them," Craig said. "The game must be the child's passion.

"To be great at something you must make a lot of sacrifice."

Taylor's passion and vision were early sings of the player she had the potential to become.

"Her hockey IQ is off the charts and she knows what it takes to win," said her father. Taylor took ownership of her dream by moving away from home to challenge herself at Tabor and earning a Division 1 scholarship to Colgate University.

It was "her decision, not ours," said Jim Craig.

Her father advises parents that although it is hard, "you must have the courage to know that they are not you, they are them

"I don't care what I did, they are creating their own legacy.  Taylor created a legacy much earlier than I did.

Taylor has been successful skating in the shadow of her dad. It's difficult to mention her name and not talk about Jim Craig.

"Nobody really gave her a fair shake," her dad said, referring to the pressures of Taylor being "Jim Craig's kid."

'She could become the victim or the victor," Craig said, "and she is strong enough to be the victorious.

"I am thrilled and so proud of what she's accomplished by herself. She's as proud of me as I am of her."

Balance has been the key. Craig and his wife, Sharlene, wanted Taylor to have a normal teenage life, but they also wanted to prepare for the challenges she will face as a Division 1 student-athlete.

Over the summer, Taylor played with an elite group of Olympians, as one of two non-collegiate players on the team. Her father called this a test to see if she truly loved hockey or hated it.  She came home and said, "I love hockey."

From the beginning, "the game was fun for her, and it still is," said Craig. "She always had a smile on her face. She was always happy on the ice.:

Instead of Taylor being told, "Hey, you're Jim Craig's daughter, Jim's greatest joy is when someone says, "Hey, you're Taylor Craig's father."