At age 5, William Greene III was on a pair of skates, playing hockey at the Scotts Valley Roller Rink. By 10, he’d moved up the youth hockey ladder and was playing for the Junior Sharks in the National Championships.
Greene, now 24, was not good enough on the rink to move on to the next level, but his hockey exploits carried him around the North American continent and for several years and pitted him against such National Hockey League players as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Kyle Chipchura of the Anaheim Ducks, and a number of other professionals, including Brett Sutter of the Carolina Hurricanes, Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks, Jack Johnson of the Los Angeles Kings and Rhett Rakhshani of the New York Islanders.
After a lifetime of apprenticeship at his father’s jewelry store in Scotts Valley, Greene is now running the shop full time.
In the wake of the recent Stanley Cup Playoffs, I caught up with Greene at Wm. Clayton Greene Jewelry in the Scotts Village shopping center, where he works with his parents, to talk hockey with him.
Nathan Beck: What was it about hockey that drew you to the sport at such a young age?
William Greene: I started playing here in Scotts Valley and had a blast playing roller hockey. When I was 8, I was invited to play over the hill for the Junior Sharks, though I was sponsored riding skateboards for Santa Cruz Skate Shop at the time, but I gave it up. I had fallen in love with hockey and just pushed skateboarding to the side as a hobby.
NB: What was hockey like as a younger player, versus when you were older?
WG: As a kid, the whole hockey world was a whirlwind. We were all over the States playing against guys twice your size. I remember the first time we played against Kyle Chipchura, who now plays for the Ducks — he was the biggest kid. Everyone on our team was scared of the guy. Then, a few years ago, I got to see him get drafted. It was a cool full circle to watch.
NB: Do any other players from your past stand out?
WG: I was teammates with Casey Wellman, who now plays for the Minnesota Wild. We were on the same team for three years. My memories of him were of this little kid who was scared to hit people. I sure wouldn’t mess with him now.
In 2003, I played against Sidney Crosby, the current captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. At the time, none of us knew who he was, but now the guy is world class. Sid the Kid was Mario Lemieux’s prodigy and is a common household name among hockey fans.
n Sports reporter Nathan Beck profiles accomplished athletes from the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley. Know someone he should talk to? E-mail him at na****@pr*********.com.
