In the world of stereotypes, a guy named Bubba who lives in the South would conjure up certain images. But Charles “Bubba” Jowers is not stereotypical of anything. The closest he comes to being a redneck is a recently-chipped tooth, which he received while playing hockey.

That’s right, hockey.

Bubba, a senior at Hardaway High School, has been playing hockey for four years. Although he tried his hand at more traditional sports common to this area, they just didn’t captivate him like hockey. “I played other sports but those were too repetitive for me,” he explains. “With hockey, it’s all about quick decisions.”

So how does a 17-year-old native Georgian become not only a fan of hockey but a participant in the sport? Well, that is an interesting story within itself.

“When Bubba was 10 years old, he had cancer,” says Bubba’s father, Ray Jowers. “While he was in the hospital here in Columbus, Jerome Bechard and other members of the Cottonmouths hockey team came to visit him. They kept coming back, and he got interested in hockey.”

Bechard is now the coach for the local professional team. Back then, he and fellow team members would often make visits to the pediatric ward at The Medical Center. Bubba’s diagnosis of Burkitt’s lymphoma caused him to be hospitalized for almost nine months and during that time, he became close to the players. “When they would come to see me we would talk about hockey, and Jerome gave us tickets to come watch the games,” says Bubba.

Those talks, combined with the outings to hockey games, sparked something inside the sick child. When he was released from the hospital, Bubba was determined to become active again. He took up playing sports as soon as he was able and eventually fell into playing roller hockey. Bubba’s greatest desire was to be normal, never mentioning his cancer to most people. “I hate it when people find out,” he says. “I don’t like being treated like a baby or get pity because I was sick.”

Perhaps that is one reason Bubba finds so much relief in playing the physical sport of hockey. The transition to ice hockey came almost by accident. “My buddy mentioned to me one day when we were playing roller hockey that there was an ice hockey team here, so I decided to give it a try,” recalls Bubba. Laughing, he remembers his first experience on the ice. “It wasn’t pretty,” he says. “The other kids on the ice were making fun of me.”

Discouraged that he didn’t take to ice skating immediately, Bubba told his father he was going to quit. “I told him he was not,” says Ray. “I just told him to stay with it because he was really doing better than he thought.”

Once Bubba ceased to look like a newborn foal taking its first steps, he began to get the groove of skating and playing. He tried out for the local team. Fifteen players were selected. Bubba was number 16 but was allowed to be on the team. “It was good for me because I still got some playing time, and the other players helped me to get better,” he says.

Unlike other local sports, hockey hasn’t produced a lot of former players in the area. Bubba was in need of tutoring, so he sought out the people who originally turned him onto the sport in the first place.

Bechard and others worked with Bubba, giving him tips and instruction. Later he made the local high school team, the Jr. Snakes, where he is the third leading scorer and right wing.

Composed of 18 players from area high schools, the Jr. Snakes are a travel team coached by Steve Novak. The season runs from mid-October to playoffs in January. Some of the team’s members are transplanted students who played hockey in other parts of the country. Few are new to the sport like Bubba.

Like most high school sports, hockey requires dedication and sacrifice. A typical day for Bubba finds him attending school at Hardaway, where his favorite class is economics. Then he heads to the Columbus Civic Center for time on the ice. Sometimes other scheduled events there prevent him from practicing, and Cottonmouths games take precedence. It is not unusual for him or his team to hit the ice late at night in order to hone their skills.

Bubba also works for the Cottonmouths organization during hockey season. His job includes game night operations, but recently he camped out in the clubhouse in order to let the team in when they returned from a road trip at 3 a.m.

In addition to the long days, Bubba works to stay in shape for the very physical sport. He tries to eat healthy, but the teen smiles at one exception to that plan. “Chicken day at Hardaway,” he says. “Can’t miss that!”

Friends think it is pretty cool that he is into hockey, especially when they see him play. It was also an adjustment for his family. “He is a whole different person out there on the ice,” says his dad. “Very physical. He really gets into it. We were surprised at how aggressive he is when he plays.”

The nature of hockey is physical. Along with the chipped tooth, Bubba has a nagging ankle injury, back spasms and has been knocked unconscious once. He recently received a concussion during a game. “I had to hold his mother back when he got knocked out and again when he got the concussion,” laughs Ray. “Bubba made me promise not to ever let his mother come on the ice if he got hurt because that would be so embarrassing.”

Of course, hockey is known for producing a fight or two, but Ray says the league doesn’t allow fighting. However, Bubba sort of smiles and admits that is part of the game. “You are a team. If someone throws a cheap shot at one of your guys or pounds your goalie, well, you have to respond to that,” he says.