Devon Fischbach “is a competitor.”

That’s what Aberdeen Cougars coach Jeremy Backous says comes to mind when talking about Fischbach, who is a multi-sport athlete who not only participates in hockey for the Cougars, but also plays football and baseball for Warner as well.

When it comes to hockey, Fischbach says there is a certain aspect about the sport that he enjoys.

“Just going to the rink every morning, and even weekends, and playing with my friends,” Fischbach said. “It really helps with other stuff that you’ve got going on.”

The Aberdeen Cougars program welcomes players from not only Aberdeen, but also from several towns around the Aberdeen area. Fischbach says it is nice to be able to connect with players from other communities.

“It’s honestly great,” Fischbach said. “It’s a great experience to get away from people that you see every day and get to know people.”

When on the ice, Fischbach says he needs to be “aggressive, quick, and fast” to be able to succeed in the sport. Backous said he sees these qualities when watching Fischbach play.

“He hates to lose and is the type of player you love to have on your team,” Backous said. “He works hard and is one of those kids that I never have to question his effort. He gives it everything he has, whether it’s in practice or a game.”

Fischbach says he has been playing hockey for about 11 or 12 years, and that he has learned many lessons over the years.

“You kind of find out that it takes more (work) than a guy thinks, and hard work pretty much takes you all the way that you need to be,” Fischbach said.

So far this season, Fischbach has recorded seven goals and five assists, including two goals in each of the last two contests. He credits the Cougars coaching staff for pushing him and his teammates to improve throughout the season.

“They really push us hard every day and push us to get better and really push to play together more than anything,” Fischbach said.

While he is currently participating in the hockey season, Fischbach recently finished up being a part of history at Warner High School this past fall. Fischbach was a member of the Monarchs’ first state football championship team in November after Warner completed an undefeated season with a wild 76-54 win over Deubrook Area in the Class 9A state title game.

The accomplishment was something Fischbach won’t soon forget.

“It was really crazy; it was great too,” Fischbach said. “To say that I was a part of it, that my family got to be there for all of that, and for the first time in Warner history was really awesome.”

Fischbach said all of the hard work from the past few years paid off for the school and the community as the team brought home the state title.

“It meant everything to the team and to the Warner community,” Fischbach said. “The community has worked hard with the new turf that we put in a couple of years ago and it really paid off.”

Last season, Fischbach was a member of the Cougars team that fell short at the state tournament. Now Fischbach would like to finish what the team started and bring home a state title in the sport of hockey.

“We’d like to, as a team, try and go into state a three seed or higher, or even four seed, and even win it,” Fischbach said. “With hard work this year, I really think we can pull through.”