The 2018 season included several new challenges for the Smithers Secondary girls’ soccer team.
Deep snow and cool spring weather throughout the region meant the team travelled three times to Prince Rupert and had no home games. New school board policy prevented the team from practising on weekends and spring break and the team had to practice with felt balls in the SSS gym.
The Smithers senior soccer team has been relatively young the last few years, but this year was our most inexperienced team ever, with five Grade 8s and five Grade 9 players, and only one Grade 12 among our 17 players. Despite their relative youth, the Smithers girls finished first at Zones with identical 2-0 wins against Terrace and Prince Rupert.
Credit for shutting down the opposition at Zones goes to Jill Turko and Emily Holland — the first and second half goal keepers — and to the small core of veteran players in central mid-field and defence — Grade 11s Dawsyn Remillard, Kendal Zemenchick and Haley Hanchard and Grade 10 Cara Brawdy — who out ran and out played their opposite numbers and provided assistance to their less experienced teammates on the wings.
Girls soccer has a policy that everyone plays at least a third of every game and our more senior players did a tremendous job providing positive direction and encouragement to their less experienced teammates.
The relative youth of the team was cause for concern heading to provincials, but except for the first half of the second game, the young Smithers team physically and mentally handled the slick passing and confrontational tactics of other schools. Buoyed by the relentless effort of players enjoying their first provincials like Naomi Fort, Adriana Scott and Brooke Schley, Smithers created as many chances as the opposition in most games and all but the second game was really exciting. As a result of beating Kelowna, Smithers finished third of four teams in its pool and eventually finished 12th, the width of a post away from finishing in the top 10.
The large number of chances Smithers created at provincials was due to the quick breaks and mazy runs from our one Grade 12, the irrepressible Chantal Gammie, who scored all four Smithers goals at zones and all five goals at provincials. This is Chantal’s last year of high school soccer and it is not just to Chantal’s skill, speed and determination, but also her friendliness and modesty that makes her fun to play with and coach and a superb role model for other athletes.
–Submitted story