BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Editor

Mac Diver played three seasons of junior hockey in two states and two countries.
This fall, the soon-to-be 21-year-old Clarkston native is off to another adventure after recently committing to play NCAA Division III hockey for Lebanon Valley College, a private college in Annville, Pa.
“My process in committing to LVC began when they reached out and had some interest from seeing me play this season,” said Diver, a defenseman who played the 2019-20 season for the United States Premier Hockey League’s Charleston (S.C.) Colonials. “From there, they offered to bring myself and a few other teammates they had interest in up for a campus visit and to watch a few of their games on a weekend. I went up there and I absolutely loved the campus. Everything was so new and nice I was completely sold on the school part of LVC.
“On the hockey side, I met coach (Don) Parsons and loved everything he had to say and how excited he was to have us in town taking our visit and checking out the program. After we got back to Charleston, I took a few weeks to get some technical things out of the way before I made my official decision and commitment to LVC. I called Coach Parsons and he was so very excited to hear the news. Coach Parsons is a coach I’m extremely excited to play for.”
Diver, who attended Independence Elementary, Sashabaw Middle School and Clarkston Junior High before going to Flint Powers for high school and graduating in 2017, also played junior hockey for the Lansing Wolves (then of the North American 3 Hockey League) in 2017-18 and the Hearst Lumberjacks and French River Rapids in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2018-19.
“This past year was amazing,” Diver said. “Charleston is such an amazing city and the hockey was really good as well. I was shocked to find such a strong hockey community in South Carolina. My year with Lansing was a great intro to junior hockey. I got the chance to play lots and get my feet wet before trying to move up the junior ranks. Starting in Hearst, I was having a hard time hitting stride with them, so I changed my path and switched over to the Rapids where I was able to really find my game and get better.”
He added playing for the Colonials during the 2019-20 season was “fantastic.”
“I went down there knowing nearly no one and showed up Day 1 to a 6 a.m. beach workout where it was pitch dark and just embraced it,” Diver said. “We worked a first-year team into one of the best teams in our division and it all stated that Day 1. Then, a week into the season, I was named captain of the team, which was such a great honor and I was very thankful to coach (and former NCAA and pro hockey player) Hunter (Bishop) for trusting me to lead his team. We had a great year for a new team and made it to playoffs in our first year, which was a great achievement for us. The team was great, the environment was great, and the hockey aspect of everything was as professional as it gets.”
As for the off-ice portion, living in South Carolina was everything Diver expected it to be, and more.
“It was my third year living away from home and in the hockey world when away from home, it is typical to live with a ‘billet family,’ which is a family that is nice enough to take you in for that year,” explained Diver. “I could not say enough good things about my billet family that is now just a part of my family in my eyes. I lived with the rink manager Matt Mons, his wife Stacey and their two sons Blake, who was a goalie on my team, and Colton, who was in the youth hockey program for the Jr. Stingrays. They made my time down there the best I could ever imagine, from helping out at the rink, to going to the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays games together, and helping coach Colton’s team, I was instantly integrated into their family as another son.
“My time in South Carolina was unmatched, and I can’t thank my family down there enough. I loved it so much and I could definitely see myself living there in the future.”
Growing up in Clarkston, Diver said most of his family is here, including his mom Gretchen, father, Britt, and brothers, Luke, 18, and Copie, 16, and many people he has met have had a positive impact on his life.
“My favorite part about the community, honestly, is the people but also there’s nothing better than some of the food in Clarkston,” Diver said. “I grew up going to the Union from the time I was an infant and it is still my favorite restaurant in the whole town. We even still know some of the servers who were there when I was only a few years old, and it is so fun to talk to them to hear how they’ve seen me grow up.
“I loved my time at Clarkston schools, but I was much more of a small-school kid. Powers gave me that and actually that is another one of the reasons I picked Lebanon Valley College. It is an outstanding small-school environment and that is what I love to be a part of.”
In reflecting on his life and hockey career to this point, Diver said it all starts with his parents and the sacrifices they made to see
him reach his goals and dreams.
“Without them, I don’t know where I would be,” said Diver. “I could never thank them enough for pushing me and supporting me to be my very best. From driving me to rinks all over the state, camps in different states every weekend, and even endless tournaments in Canada, I am just beyond thankful.
“I owe everything I have achieved to them and am so happy that I am proving to them that all the time and help they have put into my dreams is finally paying off.”
Going forward, Diver realizes he has his next four years of school and hockey planned out but has short-term and long-term aspirations he is striving for as well.
“I want to get off to a strong start in school meeting new people and finding a groove academically,” Diver said. “Along with that, my short-term goal is to take this summer to work to be the best hockey player I can be to give myself the best opportunity for my freshman year of hockey.
“More long term, I want to play out my four years of college and then see how I can stay involved with hockey. I’d love to try and play (professionally) after college for a bit and maybe get into some coaching.
“For long-term goals outside of hockey, I am studying biology in hopes of one day going on to med school to become an orthopedic surgeon.
“I like to set big goals like this because they can really evolve, which is what I’m hoping to happen in my time at LVC.”