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.

Photo: Jasur Agzamov
After committing to Tulane, Vitaro feels proud of her improvement and looks forward to continuing her career in college

Jasper Block's Work