Zachary DeGraeve of Treherne Collegiate was the male recipient of the Winnipeg Jets Alumni and Friends Scholarships of $2500 from the MHSAA. He played hockey, basketball, golf, and volleyball while also participating in cross-country.

DeGraeve also was a leader for some of the younger athletes in his school as he was an assistant coach for the Warren JV boys’ volleyball team. He was also the head coach for the JV boys’ basketball team which he helped lead to the Zone 6 championship. DeGraeve talks about how it felt to receive this honour.

“I was pretty excited, it was the first (scholarship) I heard back from,” says DeGraeve. “I celebrated a little bit. I texted my coach right away, he wrote the reference letter for me. He congratulated me and said it was well deserved.”

DeGraeve says he has played hockey for the longest period of time but notes, in high school, he began to gravitate more to basketball. He talks about what drew him to the sport.

“I like the team aspect of sports and with basketball, there was just more guys I spent more time with just because it’s the team for the high school I go to (the hockey team combined a few different schools). I was really good at it, I found success in it, so that always leads you that way.”

He notes that he will probably continue to play hockey more than basketball going forward but says he wouldn’t be continuing to compete at a high level.

DeGraeve will be attending the University of Manitoba in the fall and will be putting the money from his scholarship toward a degree in computer science.

He describes the most important thing he learned from playing sports throughout his life.

“Responsibility,” explains DeGraeve. “They teach you how to be responsible for yourself, your team, your actions, and your teammates' actions. Your responsible for making it, being on time, and being prepared. That’s something that’ll translate to all aspects of life.”