This is the photo of the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association all-girls team from Oliver and Osoyoos that played a series of exhibition games a couple of seasons ago. The plan this year is to form one team called the Shooting Stars that will either play in the atom or peewee division and play a full regular season and tournament schedule. A large contingent of young girls are expected Thursday night at the Sun Bowl Arena for a practice and drills session. (Photo supplied)
She shoots she scores!
The South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association (SOMHA) Shooting Stars all-female hockey team is looking for new recruits, and they’ll be opening up the ice this week for young girls interested in trying out the sport for free.
A couple of years ago, a group of young girls from Oliver and Osoyoos played an exhibition schedule against other girls teams across the South Okanagan, but this will be the first time that an all-girls team will play an entire season together.
“These girls have so much fun playing hockey,” said head coach Charmaine Casorso. “There’s great energy for all hockey, but if you ever enter a girls change room – it’s something else. Lots of dancing.”
After noticing that girls living in the South Okanagan were limited to just a few athletic choices, Casorso decided it was time to introduce female hockey to the region.
“Between Oliver and Osoyoos there are not a whole lot of sport options,” she said. “There’s dance and figure skating, and soccer in the spring, but I’m trying to create awareness that hockey is a lot of fun.”
For those young, aspiring female hockey players, the Shooting Stars are holding a free introductory session free of charge on Thursday, July 28 with the fun taking place between 5 and 6:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be more of a practice than a game,” Casorso said. “What we’re going to do is have the experienced girls already on the team wear purple jerseys, so that way we can quickly see the new players coming out. We’ll have a fair amount of helpers to make sure new girls are getting lots of support.”
Girls are encouraged to come out even if they don’t have any hockey equipment since the Shooting Stars have more than enough to share.
“We’re going to bring extra gear, but if anyone is in need of gear please give me a call (250-535-0696). It’s helpful to know someone is coming so we know what we need, but regardless, any girl who comes out is going to have a lot of fun. Even if they have no skating experience.”
The evening will start off with a free skate before leading into drills involving skating, passing and shooting, and then some mini-game activities.
When the Shooting Stars play their regular season games on the road, the team will travel to Penticton and Kelowna for games. Two or three times each season, the team will compete in tournaments. Last year, the Shooting Stars finished second at a tournament in Kamloops.
“It went awesome, the girl did so well.”
Parents whose daughters are interested in continuing with the program can register online through www.somha.com.
There will only be one Shooting Stars all girls team for the upcoming season. Whether that team will be in the atom or peewee division all depends on the number of girls who show up at this week’s tryout.
The cost is roughly $200 for the season, which will cover 20 games regular season games and two practices per week throughout the season, beginning in September.
While playing with the boys in the younger age groups will continue, the opportunity to play on an all-girls team is something that appeals to a lot of players and parents and the time has come to offer this opportunity in the SOMHA, said Carorso.
Once the team is selected in the coming week, there won’t be any problem finding a coach, she said.
DAN WALTON
Regional Reporter
