Eight concussions, flat-lining in her sleep and countless broken bones are just a few of the many situations a valiant Ohio State student has gone through – all in the name of hockey.

Erin Greeley, a sophomore in zoology and OSU club hockey player, is truly dedicated in all aspects of her life – especially hockey. She hails from Watertown, Mass., a city near Boston.

She started skating at age 3 and began playing hockey at summer camps by age 5. Her older brother, who passed away when she was 5 years old, introduced her to the world of sports.

“He got me into sports. That’s why I’m athletic and I think I’m a boy,” Greeley said.

Greeley’s interest in sports started when her 3-year-old brother was body-slamming her in the crib. He had to experience the front row of a wrestling match with Hulk Hogan before he would believe it was staged. Both became obsessed with wrestling after that.

Once she made it clear hockey was her passion, Greeley always excelled and was put on teams with older kids.

“Erin was determined to be on a ‘real’ team, not in-house,” said Maureen Greeley, Erin’s mother. “Her competitiveness got her on boys teams who were a few years older than she.”

Greeley also tried her hand at typical girl activities. She was involved in jazz, ballet and tap in her youth.

“Once, Erin had a hockey tournament right after dancing lessons so she changed into her equipment and continued her lesson,” Maureen Greeley said. “While practicing the shoulder shimmy, she fell backwards and landed on the floor since she was so top heavy with her shoulder pads and helmet.”

Hockey and other sports appeared to be her priority. She said she was only involved with dance to stay in shape for hockey. Throughout her life, Greeley has played varsity softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball and baseball. Hockey, however, is still her passion. She had to play in a few leagues outside of school because it was not offered in either grade school or high school.

In high school, Greeley went to practice with the Trinity Catholic boys team. The practice was supposed to be friendly with no checking. However, she accidentally made a clean check to the leading scorer and team captain and flattened him. The boys wanted her on the team immediately, but it was illegal since it was considered recruiting from another school. She had to make other team arrangements to play.

“I always want to play and hate being held back,” Greeley said.

Although she is injured, Greeley she continues to push herself to practice.

“I play through it all, unless the limp physically does not work,” Greeley said.

Her roommate, Gayane Makaryan, an undecided sophomore, has tried to stop Greeley many times when she was attempting to escape her dorm to attend practice while injured.

“I’ve had to call her mom and make her yell at Erin to stop her from leaving,” Makaryan said. “She’s even played with a concussion before and went to practice the day after she flat-lined in her sleep.”

There is not much that can hold her back from practice.

“Erin’s had really bum luck with knee and elbow problems, among other things,” said Jeff Cunningham, Greeley’s club hockey coach. “Her choice is to play through it – she’s tough.”

Sometimes Greeley is too stubborn to go to the doctor, and will just ignore the pain and go on with her daily life.

“I broke my wrist in two places in a water fight last year and didn’t go to the doctor until a month later,” Greeley said.

Other than her many injuries and stubbornness to allow them to heal, she contributes a lot to her team.

“She interacts with both coaches and teammates very well, taking instruction and advice when offered and providing it when appropriate, which she is certainly knowledgeable enough to do,” Cunningham said.

Outside of her hockey life, she is dedicated to her family and friends.

“She is a great mentor to her sister, Andrea and many of her friends,” Maureen Greeley said.

Greeley describes herself as easy to get along with.

“I can relate to a lot of different people on a lot of different levels because of everything I have went through,” she said.

Her friends know her as someone that protects them when they get into arguments with others. They also say she is honest and fun to be around.

“I feel like when we go out she has my back no matter what,” Makaryan said. “She would never stand there and watch her friends be put down.”

In her free time, Greeley reads any book about hockey that is out there. She also subscribes to Sports Illustrated and ESPN magazine. She never misses a Boston Bruins game and has made friends with team members including Joe Thornton and former Bruins player Kyle Mclaren.

Although hockey is her passion, she has other goals in mind.

“Continuing playing hockey would be nice, but I also love animals and I want to do something important for them,” Greeley said. “I want to save animals in their natural habitat.”

Greeley is proudest of the person she is, despite some unfortunate childhood situations. Losing her brother, who she looked up to, continues to affect her. She also looks up to and admires her father, who battled throat cancer but is now cancer free.

“He had a positive attitude through it all,” she said. “It’s pretty admirable to see someone like that. He’s probably my biggest inspiration.”

Greeley will continue to play hockey and help out with the sport in any way possible. For now, she plays with a smile on her face through everything while being dedicated, determined and competitive all at the same time.