Orillia U9 Hawks girls hockey team off to great start

ORILLIA, Ontario — Living in a rural Canadian area we are no stranger to the most beloved sport in the country – Hockey. The girls of the Orillia Hawks U9 Team share this common passion every time they lace up and hit the ice. Coaches Jason Wilson, Ryan Card and Bryan Chappelle (assistant coaches) and the team trainer Ryan Smyth, all work with the team for a common goal, simply to have fun! At the age the girls are working on all the skills and learning what it takes to be a part of a team.

The U9 team is made up of grade two’s and grade three players apart from one little rockstar who was brought up from the U7 team. She is just in grade one but as Susan Wilson (the team manager) says, “She is working hard, and fitting in great!”

The Orillia Hawks have been an organization that has been focused on empowering girls in hockey for over 30 years. This team and their coach’s passion lies in the same ideals. These amazing coaches all share the drive to push these young ladies towards a couple of main goals, teaching the rules of the game and building their confidence on and off of the ice. It is important for the beginning of the season while working on these goals that each player gets plenty of opportunity to touch the puck and get lots of ice time.

During the second part of the hockey season the team focus will switch to full ice time and rule comprehension. “As the girls gain confidence and understanding the coaches will add in more information about rules and positions,” Susan says. “The coaches make a conscious effort to work on every position, the skills and abilities from skating, goal tending, scoring and defence.”

The team is off to an amazing start this season, since November 2022 these amazing youngin’s have won 5 games and tied 1. Pretty impressive!

This kettle of Hawks is made up of many talents, from top scorers, mighty defence, and excellent goal tenders (and all the skills needed to support these positions).

The girls have already improved so much so early in the season. “The players have started to recognize the importance of teamwork and keeping their heads up during the game,” says Susan proudly. “At one of our earlier games two of the players got their first ever goals as a result of the teamworking together and passing the puck.”

In sport, it is customary for the team and players to start off with a pre-game ritual; the coaches of the Orillia Hawks U9 girls practice this as well. Coach Jason starts each game with a pep-talk followed by a cheer – 1 – 2 – 3…GO HAWKS! It must be doing the trick, at their first tournament the tram played 5 games in 2 days and the Hawks were UNDEFEATED! This U9 team won ALL 5 GAMES! The coaches and manager are so proud of these girls and their strong efforts. They were exhausted by game 5 but they brought their best and tried so hard and defeated their hardest opponent yet.

“There isn’t an official favourite team meal, but if you pass these girls a box of donuts or Timbits they will never say no!” Laughs Susan.

Team building is an important part of the bonding that these girls practice. At the start of the season the Hawks were made up of half veterans and half of the team was joining for the first time. So, getting to know each other and have some fun was the key goal. For Christmas the team decided to do a Secret Santa, the team drew names and they had to learn a bit about their teammates to better know what they might like to receive as a gift. This is a fantastic team activity as it encourages conversation and in turn may discover similar interests and who knows, they may even form lifelong friendships.

It is clear, that these girls have incredible leadership and are growing together in leaps and bounds.

This team of young ladies work strongly together and cheer (some louder than others) on their team from the bench. So far there are no U9 records broken yet this season…not yet that is.

As this amazing team of young hockey players take to the ice, let’s be with them in spirit; like the girls when they end a game, we can join them in a group huddle and a helmet pat. 1 – 2 – 3 – GO HAWKS!

Fun Fact: Coach Jason (head coach) and all three of his girls; Quinn on this very team, Scarlett and Cameron, both on the U7 team all are affiliated with the Hawks. Mom Susan is the team manager too, it is a whole family affair and all share a passion for empowering these little ladies in sport.

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