Two Langford teens will be hitting the ice with the best high-performance female hockey players in the province when they represent the Island at the BC Cup.
Tatianna Haggard, 13, and Alex Pears, 14, made the cut for the Under-16 girls Island zone team out of more than 50 hopefuls at a training camp in Port Alberni on Jan. 3.
They’ll travel to 100 Mile House for the BC Cup tournament, matched up against the best from the other five zones from March 31 to April 3.
“I wanted to work as hard as I could and just tried not to mess up,” Haggard said. “It’s really exciting to know I made it out of 50 girls. I was one of the last names to be called and even though I knew I played really good, I was still shocked.”
Haggard, a Grade 8 student at John Stubbs memorial school, has been playing hockey since she was six years old. She’s currently playing left wing with the South Island bantam A Breakers at Juan de Fuca hockey.
“Being on a team like this will help me develop a lot as a player. I’m really excited to see the other teams and see what’s out there for competition” Haggard said.
Pears, in Grade 9 at Spencer middle school’s hockey academy, played on last year’s Island U16 team.
“I’ve played in the Spencer hockey academy for three years, and it’s all boys. I’ve gotten to know them all really well because I see them every day,” Pears said. She’s currently playing defence for the Juan de Fuca bantam B boys squad.
“(Going to the camp is) a really cool experience whether or not you make the team,” Pears said. “It’s good to know what the level is at in my age group because I don’t really get to see that playing with the boys.”
Both girls have future plans to play for Canada’s national team when they get older.
The female U16 BC Cup is held on alternating years to the B.C. Winter Games. For more information, visit www.bchockey.net.
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com