By K.A.Pendergast
Clearwater hosted a “Try Hockey” fun day for girls on Dec.15th at the North Thompson Sportsplex.
There was an amazing turn out of our local players, some Kamloops girls and a number of fresh new hopeful players; local players were asked to invite a friend or two who was interested in joining.
Two age groups were focused on, which were ages five to seven and eight to 13. Four coaches from Kamloops took to the ice, as well as two from Clearwater, which included Brett Colborne and Elijah Wicks.
These coaches were led by former NHL player Mike Brown. They gave all the girls a teaching session including demonstrations, with drills and skills learning. Goaltenders, defense, forwards and centres all learned a few tips to play their positions as well as skating skills.
They then let them put it all to use in a fun scrimmage. These newest hockey players got a chance to see just exactly how fun this sport can be. While talking on the sidelines a Kamloops coach pointed out how lucky Clearwater is to have a girl’s team in town.
Kamloops has only two with it’s huge population base to draw from. Smiles abounded the entire afternoon from coaches and players alike and the attending parents and grandparents seemed to also be having as much fun as the kids.
A big shout out to the CRHL program and Clearwater minor hockey who partnered the event, Kamloops guest coaches Mike Brown, Mike Marino, Murray Ward, Brian Plowe, and our own Brett Colborne and Elijah Wicks, as well as Erika Rotzetter for sponsoring the event with pizza for all the girls. A great way to spend a typical Canadian afternoon.