FREEPORT – Heading north after high school isn’t just an interesting proposition for Cole Hepler. It’s a tradition in his hockey-rich family.

Cole, who is a senior forward for the Freeport hockey team, saw his older brothers Zach, 25, and Jeremy, 23, travel that path. Both defensemen, Zach played for the Toronto Dixie Beehives of the Ontario Junior A Provincial Hockey league and Jeremy played for the Upper Canada Patriots and Markham Waxers before moving on to play collegiately.

That decision is still off in the future for Cole, but he has thought about it.

“I mean, I’m interested,” he said. “When the opportunity comes, I’m going to take advantage of it. I’ve worked hard playing for travel teams and am going to get tryouts with the next couple months. … Looking at their accomplishments and see them move away and play at the junior level is pretty amazing.”

All three brothers grew up playing for their dad, current Yellowjackets coach Dave Hepler. Before he had kids, his hockey background was limited to playing street hockey and games on frozen tennis courts.

Dave had success on the gridiron and punted for the University of Pittsburgh during the early 1980s. Coaching sports became a learning process. He also coached his kids in baseball and soccer.

“I look at a soccer field and a hockey rink pretty much the same,” he said. “You keep a lot of protection in front of the net. You need good defense and you want to keep the ball/puck out of the danger zone in the middle of the field.”

Dave’s competitive nature helped encourage his sons.

“It’s enjoyable. Sometimes it’s probably one of the harder things because it feels like he’s pushing you 10 times harder than the other kids,” Cole said. “Other times it’s nice to talk about certain things or work on separate things.”

Getting started in hockey started with their cousins. They had six cousins who played and Jeremy and Zach got into hockey at about 5 years old. Normally on Christmas Eve, the family gets together for dinner, then plays street hockey afterward.

Cole, who is sixth in PIHL Class A in goals scored with 15 and has 24 points, got a year jump on his brothers. Scoring goals also held more of an appeal than his defensive-minded brothers.

“I like scoring goals. That was my main thing when I was little,” Cole said. “I liked putting the puck in the net and playing in the offensive zone. I thought it was cooler.”

During his senior year, Zach knew he wanted to play hockey somewhere. He applied to colleges, but saw an opportunity to play in juniors.

“I applied to schools, but I knew in the back of my head I wanted to play hockey somewhere,” he said. “I finally caught on somewhere and wanted to prove to myself I could get better.”

Zach Hepler appeared in 87 games and contributed 42 points, including five goals at Toronto. He then played four years at Division III SUNY Plattsburg and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth before he graduated in 2013.

“You have to grow up a lot faster,” Zach said. “I had a couple guys that came up with me from Pittsburgh and we lived in the same house together. … You can’t describe juniors compared to everything else. You eat, sleep and breathe hockey.”

Jeremy, who currently is a defenseman at Division III University of St. Thomas (Minn.), scored seven goals in his two seasons in juniors.

“I lived with a family (in Toronto), you have to adjust to the way they live and it was a good experience,” Jeremy said. “They showed me around the city of Toronto. … It was a great experience up there and they showed me their culture and I had to adapt to it the next two years.”

All three brothers hope to stay involved with hockey past the end of their playing careers. Zach tried out for the Mississippi Surge of the South Professional Hockey League, but was let go the last day of camp. If he’s still in shape, he wants to try again next year.

He can’t see himself coaching just yet.

“I would rather show them how to do it instead of yelling at them,” Zach said about the possibility of coaching.

Cole’s seen how juniors impacted his brothers.

He’s hoping he can take the same road north.

“The experience isn’t all about business. How much fun they have living in a different area and taking it all in,” Cole said. “From a playing aspect, anyone can work hard and play at any level. I just want to put the extra effort in to be better.”