Hockey Fortune-s – The Fortune family of Oliver – including, from left to right, Trey, Tom, Jamie, Teresa and Jack – are preparing to travel the province in hopes of winning a hockey championship. Dale Cory photo
Tom and Teresa Fortune have a busy life. With three boys playing minor hockey, and all three qualifying for provincials, it’s about to get even busier for this close-knit family
Boys do what boys will do.
In the case of the Fortune family in Oliver, the boys will be playing hockey.
All of them. Lots of it. And with great success.
This past Monday, as I drove in search of the Fortune family residence in Oliver, it didn’t take long to find the right place.
I drove around a corner – and there in front of me was a hockey net set up on the road, a large RV was parked in the driveway, getting primed for a big trip, and hockey sticks and bright orange hockey balls lying around, just waiting to be slapped at the net.
Father Tom could be found in the RV, making last minute repairs. Teresa was out front directing traffic, or in this case, sons Trey, 11, Jack, 13 and Jamie, 16.
All three boys play hockey in the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association (SOMHA).
All three of their teams won SOMHA league titles, then breezed through the Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association (OMAHA) playoffs, qualifying for provincials.
So, this weekend, Trey’s Peewee Rep Junior Coyotes travel to Terrace/Kitimat for provincials, Jack’s Bantam Rep team is off to Port Hardy, and Jamie’s Midget Rep team is off to Dawson Creek.
And all that has caused the Fortune household to resemble a goal-mouth scramble in the dying seconds of a one-goal hockey game!
“Yeah, it’s busy. Probably not as busy as it was a month ago when we were all going three different directions for playoffs games,” said Tom. “Now it’s settled down, and it’s just a matter of getting everything organized for the trip.”
“Trip-s!” interjected Teresa with a laugh.
The Fortune family of Oliver is just days away from the trip of a lifetime. Well, okay, trips.
Three boys. Two parents. So, how did this one get settled?
“Last year, Tom got the short straw and got 100 Mile House, so he got first pick this year and picked Port Hardy, which he thought would be the most temperate climate. So he’s going with Jack,” explained Teresa. “I’m going with Trey to Kitimat, and we are sending our oldest, Jamie, with another family to Dawson Creek. That’s how we make it through the year.”
Families heavily involved in sports, or music or drama or any other activities, have to work together. The Fortunes have been – yes, fortunate – to have a lot of help along the way.
“How we make it through the year is help from other families,” said Tom. “Ride sharing, there’s probably four or five families that help us out a lot during the year.”
And the Fortunes are most likely the only family in BC with the opportunity to display three provincial hockey championship trophies on the mantle at the same time – if things go right this weekend.
“There’s no other families in our association that has three boys going to provincials. There are three other families who have two boys going. The Pearsons, the Hotzs and the Paoleras each have two going to provincials,” explained Teresa. “There are a few families with three playing in our association, but younger kids.”
The success of all three teams is certainly a feather in the cap of the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association.
“Our little association has never been able to do anything like this before,” said Tom. “A lot of it has to do with the fact we’ve drawn players from other communities because of our programs. We have Grand Forks kids, we have Princeton kids, we have Rock Creek kids. That makes us really competitive.”
Okay, so what about the hockey. What about the players themselves. Teresa believes each adds a lot to their respective teams.
“I’ll start with Jamie. His size makes him a bit of a success as a goalie. He’s six foot six, 220 pounds, and he fills up a lot of the net. He’s pretty adaptable. Jack’s got great hands. He’s the littlest player on the team, and it’s a hitting team, so he gets beat up every game, gets back up, and goes again. Trey is adaptable. He skates hard and tries hard, and never gives up in anything he does.”
All three offered these thoughts on their team, and their chance at winning provincials.
“My thoughts on the team are that we are a structured, disciplined and very-well conditioned,” said Trey, 11, and in his first year of Peewee hockey.
“I think the Bantam Rep team is a big, hard-hitting, good-skating, and well-coached with good team chemistry,” said Jack, a 13-year-old in his first year int he Bantam division.
“The Midget Rep team is a very quick, and physical team,” said Jamie, 16, and in his second year of Midget. “Some of these players have been together since they were five years old.”
Astute thinking from a group of teenagers.
While the parents stood back and described their sons’ talents with pride, all three boys had theirs sticks in hand, continuously firing balls at the net.
Nothing new at the Fortune household.
“Yeah, they are out here quite a bit,” admits Tom, while also throwing out this caveat. “We don’t do a lot of the stuff crazy hockey parents do as far as playing spring league. We really try to get our kids playing other sports too. I think that helps. They are well-rounded athletes – not just hockey players.
And they are not just a few wins away from bringing home a provincial championship banner.
“We do everything together and feel like we are just starting to play well, and will peek at the Provincial Championships,” summarized Jamie.
And togetherness, in the Fortune household, and many others, is what hockey is all about.
Dale Cory
Oliver Chronicle
Jamie, on left, Trey and Jack Fortune are all off to provincials this weekend.
Dale Cory Photo
