Teen of the Week: Joey Gukanovich

He didn't even know he had cousins in Iowa.

As Joey wandered through Cap'n Herbie Sadler Waterman's Park, an out-of-town trio was sightseeing.

"Look!" said one, a girl, pointing to the boat named Little HES near the Barge House, "That's Uncle Herbie's boat."

That got Joey's attention.

He shyly introduced himself. The adult was Brenda Waters, a fourth cousin, descended from Herbie's sister. The youngsters were John and Kaylee Waters. Within moments, Joey and Brenda were comparing family trees and chatting about mutual family members in Maryland shore towns and on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

"I didn't know Herbie, but I knew his wife, my great-grandmother," Joey said. "I was five or six. She always wanted to go out fishing."

Joey, 19, an Arnold resident, is a 2010 graduate of St. Mary's High School. In a few days, he will be packing his ice skates, a laptop and some school supplies before heading to Towson University to start his freshman year. Unlike Herbie, who was his mother's grandfather, Joey is a crack ice hockey player and plans to continue the sport on Towson's team.

The teen played on the Navy youth hockey team for nine years, from 1998 to 2007; with the Maryland Bay Hawks; and on St. Mary's varsity hockey team during his first three years in high school until the sport was discontinued. For his senior year, he played on a team composed of players from St. Mary's, Old Mill and Annapolis High schools. He was also a member of the Bowie Bruins, a travel team, and was in the Summer Hockey League for four years.

"Hockey consumes my family's life," Joey said of the sport that keeps him on the go every weekend from August through March. "We average over 20,000 miles a year traveling to places to play. Every hockey team that I have been on is like an extended family."

He was the assistant captain the sport's final year at St. Mary's. He proudly noted the Bowie Bruins made it to the state championships, only to lose the final game.

When he could, Joey sandwiched in a few seasons of baseball and lacrosse. In addition to sports, he was a leader of one of the school's Kairos Retreats, an event that took quite a bit of volunteer time and effort. He participated in the school's March For Life on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and at the Verizon Center in January 2006 and 2008.

He helped out in other ways, too, with younger school kids and at a vacation Bible school, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Baltimore's inner city in 2008.

"Joey is a great kid. A quality young man," said Mike Arntz, his ice hockey coach at St. Mary's. "He is a joy to have around. The analogy I could make is that he's like a soldier who ends up being the hero of the day. He played his heart out. If I could put together a team of Joey Gukanoviches, it would be a championship team."

American Government instructor Kevin Latham presented Joey with an award coveted by his classmates - a simple brass ring. It's given to those who "distinguish themselves in their pursuit of academic excellence and who epitomize qualities of initiative, determination and persistence."

"He was the hardest worker in my class," said Latham. "That tenacious 'can do' attitude made him successful academically. In sports, some people are referred to as 'gamers' - the relentless ones you always go to when the game is on the line. To me, Joey Gukanovich is definitely a gamer."

Joey can also be stubborn. He broke the fifth lumbar in his back freshman year during a pick-up game of football. Though he also suffered a concussion, he ignored the pain for two weeks until he decided to have it checked out. He had to sit out all sports until the back brace came off for good.

When Joey is not in a classroom, on the ice or a playing field, he is following in his ancestor's wake. He is on the Magothy River daily from May through August, running his own crabbing business. He has been a commercial crabber for three years, using just trot lines baited with chicken necks or razor clams.

He sells his clams to Cantler's Crab House and to friends. Word of mouth spreads quickly when Joey comes ashore with several baskets loaded with crabs. "I can get one-half to four bushels on a regular day," he said. "I use a 22-foot C-Hawk my dad and I rebuilt this spring. It took us three months."

"There are definitely a lot more crabs this year," he commented. "There are so many little 2-inch crabs swimming everywhere. Next year ought to be good for crabbing. I've also noticed a lot of female crabs."

He pointed out his paternal grandfather had been a waterman for 40 years. When the teen began his business, Bronko Gukanovich gave Joey his license for commercial crabbing. A beloved figure in Joey's life, Grandpa Gukanovich passed away two weeks ago.

"I'm out there on the water every day but Monday, my day off," noted Joey. "My dad commercially fishes for rockfish. When he does that, I go with him."

"Because Joey spends much of his summer outside and on the water, he has a deeper respect for nature and understanding of the environment," stated science and biology instructor Camille Baumann. "I think students that have outside interests and responsibilities are independent and, often to their advantage, do not feel the pressure to fit in and be merely followers."

"He's not at all afraid to go against the grain, even if it means not being one of the popular people," observed trigonometry teacher Greg Yatarola, "and, yet, he doesn't go out of his way immaturely to be different."

Joey's mother, Terri, is a stay-at-home parent. His father, Joseph Sr., is a pilot for US Airways. Big sister Kelly, 25, is a graphic artist in Charleston, S.C. Sister Kristen, 22, attends Towson University and works part-time at Cantler's and Acme. Yellow Labrador retrievers Maggie and Gracie are the youngest members of the Gukanovich clan.

Joey's post-collegiate plans include the wild blue yonder, above and below the horizon. "I've always wanted to get my pilot's license, like dad. I want to stay near my family and the bay."

Anyone may nominate a Teen of the Week. If you have a nomination, send it by e-mail to Wendi Winters at Teen@quantumstep.com.