Forty players competed to make the bantam boys' hockey team at the Arctic Winter Games trial last weekend in Inuvik, with about half making the cut.
SA国际影视传媒淎ll the kids are working hard and battling hard,SA国际影视传媒� said Shawn Talbot, who will be coaching the team, midway through the three-day evaluation camp, which brought in players from around the territory to compete for a spot on the team.
Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
SA国际影视传媒淭he evaluators are going to have a real tough time trying to pick a team. The kids are working hard to get themselves in there.SA国际影视传媒�
The best players have the best shot of making the team, but more comes into it than skill, he said.
SA国际影视传媒淎ttitude, behaviour on and off the ice, kids that are going to buy into the total program, which isnSA国际影视传媒檛 just what we do on the ice but nutrition, hydration and getting themselves mentally ready and physically ready to compete,SA国际影视传媒� said Talbot. SA国际影视传媒淎ll those little things come into it as well, but generally speaking the best kids live by those rules already anyway.SA国际影视传媒�
Assistant coach RJ Carr said hockey knowledge and skating tend to be the biggest factors separating players. Both he and Talbot admit building team chemistry for a short tournament with players from around the territory can be a challenge.
SA国际影视传媒淓ven this weekend, weSA国际影视传媒檝e encouraged the kids to get to know each other,SA国际影视传媒� said Carr. SA国际影视传媒淒onSA国际影视传媒檛 just hang out with the kids from your community. Go out and meet the other kids.SA国际影视传媒�
A preparation camp before the AWGs in March 2018 will help familiarize players with each other before the tournament.
Carolyn Hunter, president of the Inuvik Minor Hockey Association, was happy to see the buzz at the rink last weekend, which also included a separate coaching clinic.
SA国际影视传媒淭he health of hockey in Inuvik is great,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淥ur numbers are up again this year, higher than theySA国际影视传媒檝e been in many years.SA国际影视传媒�
The new Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway means some players are coming down each weekend to participate in the IMHASA国际影视传媒檚 programming in Inuvik.
SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e becoming a regional centre for hockey and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 something we really want to be,SA国际影视传媒� said Hunter.
Concurrent evaluation camps for the midget and girls' AWG teams were held last weekend in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, respectively.
