KNOXVILLE, TN – Knute Rockney is credited with coining the phrase “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Billy Ocean sang it in the 80’s. And Knoxville’s Scott Witmyer is currently living out the immortal words.
“Hockey is all I have ever known,” says Witmyer. “It’s all I have ever wanted to do. It has opened doors for me and has made me overcome so much.”
And Witmyer has had much to overcome. Before going pro in 2015, the forward from Marysville, PA was still in college at Bryn Athyn when tragedy stuck. Scott’s sister Macy Lynn, who had been with Scott rinkside since she was an infant, was tragically killed in an automobile accident.
“I had just gotten home from college for Thanksgiving break in 2015,” recalls Witmyer. “I did the usual; spent time with my grandparents and Macy Lynn. At about 9 pm my sister said that she was going for a ride with some of her friends. I gave her a hug and she went on her way. Little did we know this would be the last time we would speak or see her again. Around 11:00 she was involved in a car crash that took her life. She was only 16.”
The family was crushed, and Scott didn’t know what exactly to do next. On the day after Christmas, in honor of Macy Lynn, he flew to Port Huron and decided to take a shot at pro hockey. He was signed by the Prowlers the next day, bringing an impressive 14 goals and 13 assists to the remaining 36 games of his rookie season and collecting his first championship ring.
“Accomplishing a milestone like that was unlike anything I’d ever done,” says Witmyer. “I knew my sister would be proud.”
“Scott is a player that plays with his heart on his sleeve,” said former Port Huron Prowlers’ head coach Trevor Karasiewicz. “He does anything to make the team successful.”
Witmyer returned to Port Huron for the following season and was playing with even greater intensity when tragedy struck again. On December 3rd Scott got the news that his grandfather, Tom Watts, had only days to live.
“The next day I drove home knowing that I was about to face another major loss in my life,” recalls Witmyer. I remember the whole way home just thinking about the memories, and after just going through this a year prior I was more ready for it and in control. I walked in and took his hand and told him I loved him, and told him that he could just stop suffering; I would take care of gram (Scott’s grandmother). A few minutes later he passed away holding my hand.”
Witmyer’s grandfather had introduced him to hockey when he was only two years old. Scott did what he knew he had to do, and that was return to Port Huron and play his heart out. Quickly regaining the momentum he had established, he had contributed 12 goals and 17 assists by the time he got a call from Knoxville Ice Bears’ head coach Mike Craigen.
“I was speechless,” said Witmyer. “I was finally catching a break and receiving an opportunity of a lifetime. I called my grandmother and she cried because my pap would have loved to hear the news.”
“Scott is a true two-way player that plays with speed and grit,” says Karasiewicz. “He goes to the dirty areas and can also create something out of nothing. He is one of the best penalty killers I have seen in the game. It’s a matter of time before he gets a shot in the ECHL.”
“Everyone has something that when they are doing it nothing else matters; all the pain disappears,” says Witmyer. “For me that is hockey. I can’t thank the fans and supporters from Port Huron enough for what they have done for me during my time spent there. I also can’t thank my new family here In Knoxville enough for allowing me to have the opportunity to continue to grow as a player and as a person. I look forward to my future here in Knoxville. The amount of support I receive on a daily basis is unbelievable. I have the game I love, an amazing girlfriend, and a grandmother that make me feel like the most special person in the world everyday. I also have two very special angels looking over me. Even when the worst thing in the world happens there’s always light on the other side. You can take a dark thing and turn it into a positive. I’m still here with a beating heart giving it my all everyday, because tomorrow is never promised.”
Photos courtesy of Scott Witmyer
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