Jun 17, 2020 | Donna Harrington | 996 views
Celebrating a great season, just a little differently
Congratulations to all the Junior
Gryphons Teams for their 2019/20 season. You should be proud of what you
accomplished.
On June 13th the Atom A team
decided it was time to celebrate a great season. Ultimately, we had hoped
to gather as a team to celebrate but due to circumstances that was not
possible. As in life we must adapt and find ways to celebrate our
successes.
Every team I have coached is special in
different ways. This team did not lose many games this year, only seven
but that is not why we celebrate them. We celebrate them for the lessons
we learned over a season.
For the Atom A’s this year they learned many lessons one being with every challenge there is an opportunity. As a coaching staff we put them in an AA/A tournament as an opportunity for them to play in a US tournament. The girls thought we were crazy, they battled to the semi-finals where they took Leaside all the way to the last 3 minutes of the game. Leaside was finally able to pull ahead but the girls went toe to toe, shift after shift never backing down. The opposing coaches and parents thanked us for a hard-fought battle and praised the team.
They learned about sportsmanship. On couple of occasions opposing players would not shake their hands. But after losing a championship game to Stratford our girls stood tall, shook hands and the other team thanked them for a great game and told them how well they played. The girls learned a great lesson, we battle whistle to whistle, buzzer to buzzer but you play with pride, heart and sportsmanship.
This year we had some hard-fought battles with many teams but some of our hardest with Orangeville. Orangeville was a strong team that pushed us to our limits. The girls never backed down and always played our game. On, Wednesday March 11, 2020 at 8:40pm the girls beat Orangeville 3-0 to clinch a place in the Lower Lakes Best of the Best tournament. We never got to play in that tournament or provincials because of COVID-19 but on that night the Guelph Gryphons Atom A team were champions. They won their last game of the season!
As we spoke to the girls and parents this weekend the question of what does the fall hold for hockey came up often. No one truly knows but as coach I am preparing, yes, the season will most likely look and feel different. No season is ever the same but during this time the most important thing to know is at some point we will hear our girls skates cut the ice, we will see smiles through metal cages and as Gryphons we will come together again as one. Love that Gryphon Pride!
Congrats to the 2019/20 Atom A Team (47-7-5)
#1 Abby #31 Anna #3 Sophie
#4 Lexi #6 Natalie #8 Stella
#9 Paige #10 Leighton #12 Adiah
#16 Tru #19 Sydney #22 Vyolet
#27 Sophia #77 Isabelle #88 Lauren
#94 Rylie #98 Mackenzie