Braylon Greene, a junior at MSHS, has been playing hockey since he was six and is extremely passionate about it. In October of this year, he represented Team USA in the Junior division of the 2025 PanAmerican Games.
Greene originally started with ice hockey but enjoyed roller hockey more. “He didn’t really like ice,” Cara Greene, Braylon Greene’s mom said. “He kind of stumbled into roller when he was eight, and he’s been playing since then.”
Greene’s interest in hockey began with his sister introducing it to him and then grew as he watched games on TV. Throughout the years his skill and motivation have grown. “When he started playing, he was pretty good with hockey knowledge and the stick,” Cara Greene said. “He learned very quickly.”
Even from the beginning of his career, Greene put in work outside of just team practices. “He wasn’t a great skater, and so he took it upon himself to ask some of the older boys to help him learn to skate,” Cara Greene said. “He knew that hockey was such a sport that didn’t matter how good he was with his hands or stick, if he couldn’t skate, he wasn’t going to be able to keep up.”
Greene spends a majority of his free time training. He is on a specialized lifting program with a hockey trainer and skates every opportunity he can.. “He has taken over our garage,” Cara Greene said. “We have sport court in there, so he shoots and stick handles, usually almost every other night.”
Greene plays for a club team out of California called the OC Blades. The team is well known and plays year round. He also plays in all the national tournaments every summer. “The national tournaments is where they begin scouting for kids for this program,” Cara Green said. “Last summer, he was invited to the tryout.”
This October Greene flew to Mexico to play in the 2025 PanAmerican Championships for inline hockey. He was selected at a camp over the summer that was invitation only. The players selected for the team were the top tournament roller hockey tournament players from all over the country. “I feel a lot of excitement for it,” Greene said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about ever since I started playing.”
Greene’s training leading up to the games was up to him. There was no direct team training other than one 60 minute practice the team had in Mexico the day prior to competition starting. “I would talk to the coaches almost every day, and then just practice here with my pro team,” Greene said. “I was also going to the gym and just working on strength and conditioning.”
Greene was selected to be assistant captain for the team along with another boy on the team. “I picked him because of his strong competitive level as an athlete and his positive outlook and disposition as a player,” Nick Boyarsky, head coach for the USA JR and Men’s teams, said. “Although he’s one of the younger players on the team, Braylon was well-liked and respected by his teammates.”
Greene’s team won all 5 of their games, leaving them undefeated. “Getting to live that dream felt amazing,” Greene said. “ It just made me really happy.”
After the games, Greene won top scorer and MVP. Greene had two points in the championship game and five goals and six assists over the five games. “I wasn’t really expecting it, so that one was a little bit of a shock, but it felt good,” Greene said.
Boyarsky believes that Greene was an extremely valuable member of the team. “Braylon was one of our key players both in 4 on 4 game play, and even more so on special teams where he was an integral part of our power play and penalty kills,” he said. “I would say he had a very good showing and stood out as one of our most impactful players.”
After high school, Greene wants to continue playing hockey professionally. “I want to talk to as many schools as I can to figure out what school is best for me, and then just keep continuing my playing career and education,” Greene said.
Boyarsky has high hopes for Greene in the coming years. “The path for Braylon in the sport of roller hockey is an open road,” he said. “I would not be surprised in the least to see him compete at the D1 level of Collegiate Roller Hockey in the NCRHA and fully expect to see him playing professionally in the coming years.”
