Since lacing her skates for the first time, senior Shayna Chin has worked tirelessly on and off the ice, constantly pursuing her dream of playing hockey at the next level.

With strong technical skills and standout teamwork ability, Chin, who plays forward for the girls varsity team and center for her club team, is a well-rounded hockey player and has recently committed to play Division III ice hockey at UMass-Boston.

Chin said she always wanted to play hockey at the collegiate level. Despite having a difficult recruiting process, she got an offer from UMass-Boston.

“There was a time when I doubted if I would even be able to play in college. I reached out to a lot of coaches, and I wasn’t exactly getting the responses that I wanted. UMass-Boston happened to be one of the top teams that I reached out to,” Chin said. “Hearing back from them really boosted my confidence and really reassured my skill and who I was as a player.”

Senior and captain Etta Reed said teamwork, communication and leadership are among Chin’s best qualities.

“She’s very much a leader. She’s always helping all of my teammates, and she brings positive energy all the time,” Reed said. “She’s very good at communicating and leading people. If anyone’s confused on the ice or off the ice, she’s always there to help make sure everyone’s on the same page.”

Chin expressed her excitement about her future at UMass-Boston, eager to learn from players at the next level. Chin said she is ready to take any role on the team at UMass-Boston.

“[I hope to] find my role there, even if it’s not on the ice, or any kind of contributing. Whether it’s the energy or anything on the ice,” Chin said. “getting that much training in, being on the ice, contributing off the ice, I’m hoping that my skill will improve, and playing with people who are that much better than me will push [me] how far I can go.”

Senior and captain Paes said Chin’s ability to push the team even when times are tough has made her an exceptional player.

“She’s really good and helps the team a lot. She always works her hardest until the end and tries to bring everyone up from tough losses or something,” Paes said. “She’s always trying to uplift people and pushing people to keep going, even if we’re not doing well in a game or something.”

Chin, who also plays club ice hockey for The East Coast Wizards, said playing club hockey offered her more opportunities to grow as a player.

“You get to meet a lot of new people, and you just get to know a lot of different people as well, people who grew up in different places as you,” Chin said. “Of course, since it’s some of the best players, you also get to play with the best of the best, so it’s a pretty good experience.”

Chin said playing club hockey and for the Warriors allowed her opportunities to grow differently.

“They’re both beneficial in their own way. I think Brookline helps me a lot with more than just the game, but also life skills with my time management because it’s just such a time commitment for BHS, just because of the weird ice times and all the team bonding and extra stuff,” Chin said. “It also helps with my leadership roles because there’s such a big age gap between us seniors and the freshmen.”

Paes said Chin has developed a lot over time, and her long-term work ethic has helped her achieve her recent success.

“She’s grown a lot as a hockey player,” Paes said. “She’s improved so much and worked so hard to get to where she is.”