Goals and Leadership

Hockey Captain John Polito scores his 100th goal

John+Polito+of+the+Abington+Hockey+Team+during+the+2019-2020+season+in+a+game+against+Foxborough+at+the+Canton+Ice+House.+

Bill Marquardt, with permission

John Polito of the Abington Hockey Team during the 2019-2020 season in a game against Foxborough at the Canton Ice House.

Kate Baxter, Contributor

John Polito, Abington Hockey Captain and left wing forward, has been a student-athlete for his high school career in both hockey and baseball, where he plays short stop. Polito first started playing both sports at the age of four. His high school career has introduced him to friends who appreciate his leadership on their teams.

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JP shows great leadership on and off the ice and truly has a love for the game.

— David McArthur

Senior Brady Cristoforo, who will soon be captain of the Green Wave’s Varsity Baseball team, started playing baseball with Polito at age 8 for the Abington travel baseball team. Since his sophomore year of high school, Cristoforo has played hockey with Polito.

Cristoforo said, “John is a great leader who leads by example and has a passion for what he does. He’s always there to pick up the younger kids heads when they are down.” Cristoforo said that he has been “lucky to have got to play with him [Polito] all these years.”

Dave McArthur, also a senior and the Assistant Captain on the Hockey team, started playing hockey with Polito his freshman year of high school. McArthur said, “JP shows great leadership on and off the ice and truly has a love for the game. He is a great guy to be around and specially to have as a line mate. He’s always there for his team, and ultimately is 100% there for our season and contributing towards our goal of winning it all.”

A recent winning accomplishment for Polito was on Jan. 25 when, just a few games into his senior season, he scored his 100th career goal against Cohasset. Polito is only the sixth player in Green Wave history to do so.

When asked what he will miss most once he graduates, Polito said he would miss constantly being with his friends from the team “as well as the team pasta parties.” As of now, he is undecided on a college, but plans to continue playing hockey after leaving high school, having left a bit of a scoring legacy behind.