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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1998-11-04, Page 9Let the games begin Cam Procter checks the schedule for the two Belgrave Girls Intermediate hockey teams. With a few more players there would also have been a Junior Girls squad attesting to the fact that the sport's popularity continues to increase. Belgrave girls home games are in Brussels on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m., until frigid weather hits and they move to Belgrave Winning ways The Midget Girls cross country team from Walton Public School placed third overall in a recent meet among eight central Huron schools. Team members are, in back, from left: Laura Elligsen, 13th; Jodi McIntosh, 14th and Bridget Blake, fifth. In front, from left: Laura Bowers, 24th anc Nicole Williamson, 15th. The Wingham Recreation Department is offering a: CO-ED INDOOR SOCCER LEAGUE Are you interested in playing in the Co-ed Indoor Soccer League? This will be our first season for this league. This league will be open to those 14 years & older, there is no age limit! You can play individually or recruit enough players for a team. Show off your footwork with some challenging, yet recreational indoor soccer action! Rules, schedule of play, teams, refereeing and scorekeeping will be finalized once we know the number of participant registrations. Running from: November 26 - March 11, Thursday nights (we will break for Christmas holidays) Location: F.E. Madill Secondary School, 231 Victoria St., Wingham, gym 2501252 (double gym) Times of Play: The times will depend on the number of teams that we have registered. Game times will be scheduled between 7 -10 p.m. Ages: 14 years and older. No age limit. Cost: $20.00 per person. FOR MORE INFORMA770N OR 70 REGISTER, PLEASE CALL THE WINGHAM RECREATION DEPARTMENT 274 Josephine St., Wingham, ON NOG 2W0 PH: 357-1208 Fax: 357-4574 E-mail: recdept@wcl.on.ca unicef United Nations Children's Fund Where children's rights come first. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1998. PAGE 9. Popularity of women's hockey grows By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff Slicing blade through ice the skater travels down the rink with graceful precision. As wily as a coyote and swift as a road runner, the player moves around the opposition, deking the goalie and firing the puck between the pipes. The buzzer sounds, the game ends and the squads retire to the dressing rooms. Doffing helmets and heavy padding, the once formidable is now transformed, back to sugar and spice. There's no question that girls hockey is finding its skating legs. While the past winter Olympics introduced women's hockey for the first time, the talent and interest has been burgeoning in this area for the past few years. Irrthe 1995-96 school year F.E. Madill Secondary School put together its first ever girls hockey team, which consisted of 17 players. In February of that season the squad travelled to North York to take part in the Canadian Tire Girls High School hockey classic tournament. They won all three games, then lost the A final by just one point. While women's hockey did exist in the late 1960s to mid-1970s in this area, for reasons unknown, it never really took off. However, with those enthusiasts now 'moms', the popularity of the sport took on new life. In the winter of 1993-94, six teams were signed to the WOAA from Huron playing at the intermediate level (12-15-year-olds). The following year, with dwindling enrollment in Belgrave resulting in no boys teams, Cam Procter, began to wonder if a girls team could be formed. "My daughter had played on the boys team and she was angry that there wasn't going to be one. I said if she could find me a bunch of girls who wanted to play, I'd get things organized." Cam contacted his friend Steve Cook, from Blyth, with whom he had coached in previous years and whose daughter had played hockey. The two put together a junior team for girls nine-to 11. The next year there was enough interest for a junior and an intermediate team. "And again, it was all done by the girls. They recruited their friends to come and play." In all there were 11 signed for junior and 17 for intermediate. This year, Cam says, he was just three players short of putting together a junior squad in addition to the two intermediate teams. While the first teams were fairly much pulled from the immediate Belgrave area, Cam says in recent years they have gone further afield to get players. "Last year half of the junior team was girls from Brussels." Success is growing, too."Every year of junior Belgrave was runner-up. Last year we took the championship." Though the girls sport allows for no body contact, that is the only difference, Cam says. "These girls are every bit as good as the boys." Noting that many of the players had been part of boys hockey teams, Cam says that one of the girls, Brooklyn Wheeler, even played Triple A last year. This year, she, along with Michelle Cook, Rachel Elliott and Brittney Kellington have made the AA Saugeen provincial team. "I'm happy to see them make it, sorry to see them go," says Cam. "If I had them to fill things out this year, we'd have quite a pair of teams." A good deal of hockey talent is being drawn from the Western Ontario Women's Hockey League, iniwhich Belgrave plays. One Hanover girl is on tryouts with Team Canada, while another currently plays with them. Yet, another plays with a provincial team out of Toronto. "Currently six girls under the age of 17 are trying out or are actually playing with Team Ontario. (WOWHL) has been represented well for a fairly small number of players," says Cam. What is bringing on the popularity is anyone's guess, but Cam credits some of it to the fact that girls in hockey are being taken seriously. "It's just finally come into its own. Boys were always pushed and girls were not. Now it's available and the moms are saying they want their girls to have the chance to play." Cam adds, with a laugh, "We have that saying about what's the difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom. Well the mothers are definitely the movers. And that's a good thing because they're also better organizers than the fathers." Though he has yet to convince a mother to get her coach's ticket, Cam says this year three women have gone for their trainer's ticket. "I think this will help with the continuance of women's hockey in the area." Something else Cam has noticed is that not one girl has joined and quit. "They have either continued or moved up. They just seem to get keener and keener." "From a coach's standpoint and as a father of three girls who play, I know that if it isn't fun, they won't be there." Having coached both boys and girls at different levels in different sports, Cam has discovered some interesting differences. Girls tend to be more appreciative of the coach's efforts, he says. "They seem to try harder to accomplish what you ask of them." While the camaraderie and frustrations ate the saline, the girls tend to watch out for the smaller players. "Boys would mow them down," he smiles. Also, he says, the girls are protective of their own. "They never let our little ones go into a corner without a bigger one there. It's almost like they're more — motherly." "They're just as competitive as the boys, but with style." Bulls drop tough game, Sunday Friday, the Brussels Bulls were out classed by a strong Wingham team which handed them a 10-0 defeat. Sunday Wiarton was in town to face off against the Bulls. A short- staffed home team were outshot 15 - 8 after the first period, but goalie Shane Graham made some superb saves to keep the Bulls at 0-0 after the period. In the second period Wiarton outshot the Bulls 11-10, however the score remained knotted at zero. In what may have been the goal of the year to date Bull Matt Williams rushed down the wing and stopped behind the net. He flipped the puck over the net. It hit Atom Reps skate to strong finish Though off to a slow start, the Brussels Atom Rep team finished strongly when they took on Elma Logan Oct. 31. The home squad amassed four goals wile Brussels was only able to push two over the line, both in the third. Darcey Cook popped one in, unassisted at 11:58 with Matt White bulging the twine just 32 seconds later. Gregt 'Bowers earned the assist. the Wiarton goalie in the back and went in. Helpers went to Dave Hardy and Grant Jarvis. Wiarton scored at the 15:32 mark and the 7:56 to take a one-goal lead. The Bulls fought back as Hardy scored at the 6:57 mark with assists from Corey Campbell and goalie Graham. Wiarton took the lead back 10 seconds later. Then to seal the victory they added one more goal with 48 seconds left defeating the Bulls 4-2. This week's winner of the Bulls draw was Barb Fear of RR 4, Brussels, who wins $20. The final draw is at the last regular season home game. This weekend the Bulls go on the road to play Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in Mount Forest and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Hanover. The Bulls are out of town due to the Atom Tournament. The Bulls wish the Brussels Atoms all the best.