He Didn’t Wait His Turn. He Built Something Instead.
Inside a fast-growing warehouse in Grand Rapids, pallets of hockey tape are stacked high, bound for locker rooms across the NHL, college programs, and rinks around the world. The brand on every box? Howies Hockey.
What most people don’t see is how it started: not with a business plan, not with investors, but with a college student making cold calls between classes.
The Question Every Senior Is Asking
When Howard Max Sieplinga (Max) was finishing high school, he faced the same question high school seniors might be asking right now:
Where should I go and will it actually matter?
He had options. A chance to play soccer down south. Other schools. Other paths.
But he chose Calvin University.
Part of it was familiarity. Part of it was family legacy. And part was for the love of the game.
“I couldn’t imagine a life without hockey,” he said. “And Calvin had a hockey program.”
That mattered.
Hockey wasn’t just an activity; it was the center of his identity. And Calvin gave him the chance to keep pursuing it at a high level while still getting a serious education.
That decision paid off in ways he couldn’t have fully predicted. While at Calvin, Max's team went on to win a National Championship in 2004, and he was named National Player of the Year, experiences that shaped not just his confidence, but his belief in what he could accomplish when discipline, teamwork, and opportunity came together.
Max wanted a place that would challenge him, not just academically, but personally.
He wasn’t just thinking about the game and he didn’t just want a degree.
He wanted to build something.
The Moment Everything Changed
When Max arrived at Calvin, his dad had a small side business, selling hockey tape online. It was moving… slowly. One box every couple of weeks.
For most students, that would’ve been background noise.
For Max, it was an opportunity.
Instead of waiting until graduation, he started working the phones, calling hockey rinks, introducing the product, hearing “no” over and over again.
That’s where the turning point happened.
A professor, Andy DeVries, gave him a mindset he still uses today:
Don’t sit back and wait for orders. Go get them.
Every rejection wasn’t failure, it was progress.
And suddenly, college wasn’t just about classes anymore.
It was about momentum.
A Different Kind of Education
At Calvin, learning didn’t stay in the classroom.
Yes, Max studied business. But the lessons that shaped him most came from people.
Professors like Stacy Jackson and Bob Eames brought real-world experience into every conversation. They didn’t just teach concepts, they pushed him to think bigger.
To act sooner. To stop waiting.
Even outside his major, the impact was real. A demanding freshman English class forced him to become a better communicator, something he’d later rely on in every email, pitch, and customer interaction.
“I wanted to be excellent in the details,” he says. “That mattered.”
And when things didn’t go smoothly, and they didn’t, he learned something just as important:
How to fail, adjust, and keep going.
Built on Faith, Lived Through Action
As the company grew, Max had to decide what kind of leader he wanted to be.
The answer wasn’t complicated, but it was intentional.
Faith became the foundation.
Not in a loud or performative way, but in how people were treated.
On a wall inside the company is a simple idea:
Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to Him.
That belief shows up in everyday moments:
- Taking time to care for customers individually
- Going above and beyond, even when it’s inconvenient
- Building a culture where people matter as much as performance
Once, after a casual conversation with a hockey mom, Max sent her kids a surprise package. No strategy. No marketing plan.
Just care.
That kind of interaction built something bigger than a brand.
It built trust.
Opportunity Doesn’t Wait - And Neither Did He
Here’s what most people miss: Max didn’t wait until everything was “set” to take a risk.
He started while he was still a student.
Because he could.
No mortgage. No kids. No pressure to play it safe.
That window matters.
“At 30 or 40, people told me, ‘I wish I could do what you’re doing,’” he says. “But life gets in the way.”
At Calvin, he had the freedom and the support to try.
Professors helped him think strategically. The alumni network helped him hire. Teammates helped pack boxes in the early days.
It wasn’t just a school.
It was a launchpad.
From Garage to the Big Leagues
The early days were scrappy. A garage. A basement. Late nights figuring things out.
Then came the breakthrough.
Landing the New York Islanders as their first NHL client.
That moment changed everything.
It proved the product could compete.
It proved the work mattered.
It proved the idea was real.
Today, Howies Hockey serves nearly every level of hockey worldwide, with a team of 50+ employees and a culture still rooted in the same values it started with.
Why This Story Matters to You
Max still comes back to Calvin.
Not because he has to but because he believes in what it can do for students.
He hires Calvin grads.
Speaks in classes.
Mentors students who are where he once was.
Because he knows this:
Calvin doesn’t hand you success.
It gives you the tools, the people, and the environment to go after it.
Your Next Step
If you’re a high school senior trying to decide where to go, here’s the real question:
Do you want to wait for opportunities…
Or build something while you’re here?
At Calvin University, you won’t just prepare for what’s next.
You’ll have the chance to start it.
Right now.