Last Thursday marked an historic night for women’s hockey in Chilliwack.
The Robert Bateman Timberwolves took on the Sardis Falcons in what was the first ever women’s high school hockey game in the Eastern Fraser Valley.
The Falcons fell 4-2 in a spirited match against the Timberwolves, but the score seemed almost inconsequential in what was a significant milestone in Fraser Valley hockey.
“It’s pretty amazing the level of growth and skills acquisition and confidence we’ve seen in them,” said Sardis Hockey Academy director Jeff Grenier.
“We’re just here to help them improve.”
For the past 12 years, Sardis Secondary has offered a hockey academy course to students, incorporating on and off-ice training, nutrition, and sports psychology.
For most of the program’s history though, it has been a male-dominated course.
A handful of girls would train with the guys in years past, but with interest growing, an all-girl’s group ran this year for the first time.
“Throughout the years, I’ve made many changes to the program to get it to make the most sense long-term,” said Grenier.
“By being able to have them all on their own out here, it’s much easier to give them the attention and the necessary structure that I want to see for optimal development.”
Grenier would like to generate enough interest in the program that Sardis is able to run a proper varsity girl’s team that can compete in the future.
The program currently runs through the entire school year, with the girls on the ice three times a week and has recently been opened up to students from other schools able to partake.
Grenier emphasized the distinction between the academy, and minor hockey.
“It’s nice to be separate from minor hockey…there’s really no politics involved in this,” he said.
Off the ice, the academy does a lot of strength training and physical therapy to help with injury prevention/maintenance with Grenier stressing the importance of “learning fundamental movements” at as young of an age as possible.
“It’s pretty amazing to see the progress…it sounds like we’re going to continue growing, and I don’t see it slowing down.”
Alongside Grenier, other members of the academy include on-ice skills instructors Nathan Martz, Graeme Strukoff and Kim Coates, as well as goalie instructor Grant Rollheiser.
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