The roar of the crowd fades around Jojo Vitaro ’26 as she takes a deep breath and steadies herself. As an oncoming attacker rushes toward her, Vitaro stands her ground and deftly steals the puck from the attacker with a well-timed sweep check. Seconds later, the clock rings and the PHS girls hockey team crowds around their captain as they celebrate a 7–3 victory against Lawrenceville, marking their third consecutive victory.
The ice rink was far from unfamiliar to Vitaro. She began playing hockey at five years old after her brother Nico Vitaro ’23 introduced her to the game.
“My brother gave a lot for his team when he was a freshman or when he was a senior; he played goalie for his team, even when he had never played goalie [before],” said Vitaro. “He sacrificed a lot for hockey and I look up to him for that.”
As a result of her family’s background in the sport, they became a source of inspiration for her passion for hockey. Still, she only rediscovered her passion after stepping away from the game for years to pursue a different sport, soccer.
As Vitaro grew over the years after her return to the game, Head Coach Christian Herzog observed her growth as a player throughout her four years on the team. Specifically, Herzog emphasizes her importance as an honorable leader on the ice rink.
“She’s gotten better over the years positioning-wise — that’s a common theme within this team,” said Herzog. “She’s more trusted than she has been [in the past], and she earned that kind of trust.”
Furthermore, her attitude has also drawn attention from spectators. Herzog recalled others noticing Vitaro’s perseverance regardless of the outcome of the game.
“I’ve had colleagues of mine who come to see games, and even if we don’t [do well] ... they [say], ‘Hey, so I noticed a captain, she just doesn’t throw in the towel’,” said Herzog.
Similarly, her efforts have also been noticed by her teammates. Sophia Lee ’26, another co-captain on the team, emphasizes Vitaro’s willingness to be honest and communicative.
“A lot of people feel like they can’t give me feedback or that they’re not in the place [to do so],” said Lee. “But whenever the period ends, she’ll skate up to me, and she [says] ‘Hey, I’m just noticing this and this...’; then, I’ll do my best to correct it right away, and I honestly see that as one of her best qualities as a captain.”
Beyond her individual growth, Vitaro highlighted the improvement of the team as a whole throughout her career. Ever since Vitaro joined the team in her freshman year, she has witnessed the team make changes that allowed them to gradually improve.
“My freshman year, we lost all of our games,” said Vitaro. “Since then, we’ve had so much improvement ... We’ve won quite a few games this year and last year, and comparatively, we’re playing a lot better.”
Despite losses discouraging the team in the past and an 0–15 season in Vitaro’s freshman year, Herzog found that they were critical to the development of the team.
“You learn a lot more from a loss than you ever will from a win,” said Herzog. “Losses, which we’ve had plenty [of] over four years ... they create character.”
Vitaro recently committed to being a student-athlete at Tulane University. As she looks back on her time spent with the team, she cherishes every one of their moments together.
“Even though we haven’t been the strongest team in the past, it’s been worth every moment of stress, anger, and frustration,” said Vitaro.