Oct 02, 2012 | Trish Bentley | 976 views
It's Only The Beginning
As our regular season begins October 6th, I take you back to September 23rd. I stand in a dressing room at the Wilmot Recreation Center, surrounded by a room full of young ladies, preparing for their first game as a team, and for most, it is their first game as a Lady Ranger.
With only 3 returning players, Isabella, Jesse and Krista are carrying on conversations with team mates, yet the dressing room is quite quiet. Many players shy, nervous and just not quite sure what to say or what to do. It was all so new. Coach Cam, had his pre-game chat with the ladies and they headed out on to the ice. Unfortunately, as well as they played, The Lady Rangers fell short to the ladies of Wilmot in a 6-3 loss.
The team went to their morning practice the very next day and the coaches worked with the girls, filling their heads with hockey knowledge, something this young team is hungry to learn. After the practice there was quite a lot of chit chat in the dressing room…so much in fact, parents were impatiently waiting outside the dressing room calling their names in hopes that they would, well, HURRY UP! I mean really, why would any 7 or 8 year old girl want to hurry up from a bonding experience to just be whisked off to school???
It is now the 28th of September and the girls have their 2nd game, a rematch against Wilmot. This time on home ice, I stand in the dressing room, and things are different. The girls are talking, giggling and yes….DANCING! They were showing off their dance moves as the music blasted. Some breaking out moves in just their under armour, some with hockey pants and one shin guard on…the dressing room floor had been turned into a social dance floor. Again, after Coach Cam’s talk…the ladies came marching out of the dressing room this time chanting…We Are The Rangers, The Mighty, Mighty Rangers, in a battle to over power the chanting of the Wilmot Wolverines. The girls hit the ice, showing hunger for a win, often keeping the puck in the Wilmot end for great lengths of time. Unfortunately, the Wolverines popped a few in our net and skated off with another win, a win our girls made them fight for.
If the improvement from the first game to the second game is any indication of things to come, the Lady Ranger Novice B team is going to deliver a very exciting season!
Best of luck Ladies, and may your hard work and determination take you far!