On Aug. 18, BGSU hockey fans scrolled through their various forms of social media and found a short but nifty video promoting the start of the upcoming season. Its smooth transitions and highlights sprinkled throughout aim to raise goosebumps for any Falcon hockey fan.
This type of content is regularly seen from the athletic communications department, but this particular video had more attitude infused in it. It felt a little more personal. Most likely because it was created by sophomore centerman, Taylor Schneider.
While the man behind the video may have surprised some Falcon fans, Schneider is no stranger to the craft.
“When Vine was a thing, there (were) a bunch of sports edits I liked to watch,” Schneider said. “So I got interested from there. I would watch YouTube videos or sports edits for a specific athlete.”
Like many Vine or YouTube content creators, Schneider is self-taught. Inspired by the videos he liked to watch so much, he did his research on how to get started editing his own videos.
“I would watch YouTube tutorials. I had no idea what (software) they would use for that, until I figured out it was Adobe products,” Schneider said.
The budding graphic artist needed the funds to purchase basic Adobe products — typically sold at a student rate of $17.39 — so, he convinced his parents with his genuine interest in the field.
With Schneider now brought into a world of unfamiliarity, it serves as an adequate analogy for his freshman season on the ice. As last year progressed, Schneider was frequently counted on to fill a new role. Each one bringing some critical discomfort, but ultimately stability to his game.
“He’s just a kid that is real consistent in his every day,” Ty Eigner said about Scheider during his opening press conference this year. “It’s rare that he has a bad practice or a bad workout because he’s just real consistent in his effort.”
It can be difficult for any first-year player to find playing time on a team that had as much depth as Bowling Green had last year. Not only did Schneider find that playing time, he could be found on the ice as a responsible center — playing on both the power play and penalty kill.
His play even caught the eye of the professionals. The St. Louis Blues invited Schneider to attend their rookie camp during the summer. There he was able to showcase his playing style with the hope he’ll receive another call in the future.
“They were really happy with how he played. Their response to me on how he performed at camp was that he was really consistent,” Eigner said.
Although he didn’t know what to expect at first, Schneider knew he needed to come in prepared for anything. He was a freshman transitioning from the high school and junior leagues to a program that had immediate success in the form of an appearance in the WCHA championship and NCAA tournament.
Just a month after the tournament game against Minnesota Duluth, the Falcons were going through a transition of their own. The Chris Bergeron era at BGSU was over and the Eigner era began.
Schneider, now entering his sophomore season, needed to hold on to the jubilation of last year while understanding changes may come.
“Our mentality doesn’t change from last year — our goals are the same. There’s just a different guy at the helm,” Schneider said.
Looking forward, there is expected to be continuity in the lineup for Bowling Green. Meaning Schneider will need to come into the season ready to support the squad in the same ways he did last year.
“I don’t know if there’s going to be a kid up front that’s going to play more than Taylor,” Eigner said.
During hockey’s opening game against Miami, he centered the top line with Sam Craggs on his left and Freddy Letourneau on his right. A group that felt chemistry towards the end of last season, and found success during the WCHA playoff run.
As for the video edits, Schneider continues them whenever he finds the time.
He has his own YouTube channel, TJ Schneider, but as he puts it, “it’s nothing fancy.” There are 12 videos currently uploaded on it, half of them featuring his favorite athlete LeBron James.
What comes next? Schneider, currently undecided, will be declaring VCT as his major. He hopes he can add a WCHA championship ‘hype video’ to his portfolio, as well.
