The AOS-Goderich field hockey club is getting ready for a banner year with tough competition and a new team.
The U18 girls squad will be returning to the Junior Women’s Provincial League, where they will again be the smallest centre joining teams from Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Burlington, Mississauga, Scarborough, Peterborough, Kingston and Ottawa. The local club hopes to continue their success, as they captured the 2017 Ontario Championship, with many of their graduates advancing to the Ontario University circuit. The league did not run last season as Ontario was busy hosting the National Championships, so this year’s squad will be a little younger. “We have a solid corps of players moving up from U15,” said coach Ray Lewis. “They are certainly capable, coming off a silver medal in the Western Indoor League in Waterloo.” In addition, the local club will be fielding a U15 recreation squad for some tournament play, as well as an intro program for U10 girls following on the heels of their successful indoor program. “With our seniors doing well, we are trying to build some consistency in youth development, and we are now in a position to have certified coaching to start the younger girls,” said Lewis. “A number of our girls playing university are back to help out, so it’s great to have successful females as role models for the next group.” Field Hockey Ontario has begun to offer more initiatives for younger players. For more information, interested persons can visit https://goderichfieldhockey/weebly.com.
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AOS-Goderich Tours Europe
The AOS-Goderich squad spent the last 10 days in Europe, touring the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The team competed against opponents from FIT Amsterdam and Arnhem HC making many new friends and learning new dances. The group also attended a training session with National head coach Ben Howarth. We sat down with Coach Lew for a quick Q and A. Whom did you take? We took 20 outdoor members of the AOS-Goderich Field Hockey Club and five parents. The majority of our squad is under-16 and attends GDCI, but we also have players from St. Anne's, Stratford Northwestern and Strathroy District Collegiate. We are playing friendly matches, taking part in a clinic and experiencing the history. How was this planned/funded? Head coach Ray Lewis organized the trip through Assist Travel and Tours and the players funded/fundraised the entire trip themselves. The players also purchased souvenir gifts (lanyards, etc.) to exchange with Dutch players in the pregame, and also bought Canadian teddy bears for a captains exchange at the opening ceremonies. Outside of that, the team received souvenir pins from the Town of Goderich, and a wreath from the Goderich Legion. Shea Frayne created a video to introduce players, and Rob Boyce to introduce the Town of Goderich. Have you taken teams from previous years over the Europe? Where did you go last year? Yes. I have taken both soccer and field hockey teams every few years. The last time we traveled as a field hockey team we were invited to take part in an international series in California. Why do you take the team to Europe? What advantages do the girls gain of an experience like this? The Dutch are the world champs and we have so many Dutch roots here in our immediate area. We wanted to do something unique and I wanted the players to experience the highest level of the sport so that they would be able to reflect upon that and enhance their own game. So we purposely wanted to play good teams that would thrash us. It was about learning, not winning. The winning comes after. Where did you go? Whom did you play? We spent time in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Arnhem, Baarn, Nijmegen), Germany (Kleve), Belgium (Bruges, Ghent) and made a pitstop both ways in Iceland. We started in Amsterdam because I wanted the girls to experience the pro level, playing teams from Amsterdam FIT and Arnhem Hockey Club as well as taking part in clinics with national coach Ben Howarth. We played the top level teams in each category, so, if this were ice hockey, imagine we are a local U17 team playing the London Knights. One of the best parts of the trip was having National head coach Ben Howarth for a 3 hour session at the Hurley Club in Amsterdam, one of the most prestigious clubs in Europe. It was an awesome experience for the girls and for myself to work with him. Only for field hockey? Or also for leisure/sight seeing? As a history teacher, there's no way I would miss students taking part in the richness of history. We went to Nijmegen, a 2000 year old Roman town. We visited the bridge-too-far in Arnhem. Toured the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, saw the art works recovered by the Monument's Men. We climbed towers, visited a castle and ate our weight in Belgian waffles and chocolate; just for starters. We located and paid tribute to fallen Goderich soldiers at Groesbeck Cemetery with a wreath donated by Goderich Legion Branch 109 and toured the Liberation Museum. In Ghent we witnessed student activism in the name of climate change. Any words of wisdom about a trip like this for such young athletes? You get stagnate if you just stay in your own pond, so I always encourage players to get out of their comfort zone. It really opened the eyes of some of our players, especially in terms of skill, but definitely in terms of culture and tolerance. The people we met were amazing hosts. Importance of a trip like this? It's all about exposure. We have more AOS-Goderich graduates playing top level hockey in our region, at university, etc. than any other sport. Our players leave Goderich and, if they want, have the skills to make a team at the next level. This trip was about opening their eyes to that. It was also about showing players how passionate the rest of the world is about the game. And they saw that in the facilities and the people. |
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May 2024
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