50p
Bronze is the New Gold
The last time such astonishing field hockey was played at Brentwood was 13 years ago, when our coaches, Alex Miller & Rachel Renolds, as seniors, earned a medal at Provincials. Now, as coaches of the Field Hockey First XI, these two Brentonians had a diverse group of athletes to coach & motivate. After our amazing Grade 12s graduated last year, many of us were worried about the First XI of 2021. Would it be possible to arm the girls with wooden sticks & have them run the field without injury? Only time would tell.
We began the season with more than half of our team new to Brentwood. In our first tournament, the Friendship Cup, our goal was to get to know each other & see how we played as a team. We won the tournament & the returning players knew it was going to be a promising season. Our coaches realized our team had a lot of potential so they stepped up the practice pace to prepare us for the games ahead. It wasn’t long before our motivation & participation were strengthened & put to the test. For example, one minute late for practice was one intense set of running lines. Nobody wanted to be that person so we arrived at the field as a group, worked hard, & left as a team.
We were the team everyone was talking about - this amazing Mill Bay group - & we were the ones everyone wanted to play. Our team traveled to Vancouver to participate in ISAs to play some of the best teams in BC. We had our wins, losses, ties & shootouts that led us to become stronger & prepared us for Provincials, where all the hard work would pay off.
Going into Provincials, we were ranked 8th after a difficult time at Islands. It was necessary for us to rally, regroup & refocus. The competition was fierce: we needed to believe in ourselves & step onto the turf with confidence & positivity. Each of the six games reminded us of our grit & determination & through our hard work, we earned a third-place finish for the first time in thirteen years. “No matter what anyone says, thirteen is not an unlucky number” observed Ms. Rogers.
Ella S, Alexandra ‘23, First 11 Captain
We began the season with more than half of our team new to Brentwood. In our first tournament, the Friendship Cup, our goal was to get to know each other & see how we played as a team. We won the tournament & the returning players knew it was going to be a promising season. Our coaches realized our team had a lot of potential so they stepped up the practice pace to prepare us for the games ahead. It wasn’t long before our motivation & participation were strengthened & put to the test. For example, one minute late for practice was one intense set of running lines. Nobody wanted to be that person so we arrived at the field as a group, worked hard, & left as a team.
We were the team everyone was talking about - this amazing Mill Bay group - & we were the ones everyone wanted to play. Our team traveled to Vancouver to participate in ISAs to play some of the best teams in BC. We had our wins, losses, ties & shootouts that led us to become stronger & prepared us for Provincials, where all the hard work would pay off.
Going into Provincials, we were ranked 8th after a difficult time at Islands. It was necessary for us to rally, regroup & refocus. The competition was fierce: we needed to believe in ourselves & step onto the turf with confidence & positivity. Each of the six games reminded us of our grit & determination & through our hard work, we earned a third-place finish for the first time in thirteen years. “No matter what anyone says, thirteen is not an unlucky number” observed Ms. Rogers.
Ella S, Alexandra ‘23, First 11 Captain