Want a sanctuary from the uncharacteristic cold snap?
Try a toasty gymnasium.
There is no shortage of talent on display this season in Island high school girls鈥� basketball.
At the top of the class is Sophie De Goede of the powerhouse Oak Bay Breakers, a dominating all-rounder, good enough to consider varied sporting futures as either a U-Sports basketball player being pursued by several Canadian universities or a potential Canadian national team rugby player either for the Olympics in sevens or World Cup in XVs.
It鈥檚 in the genes 鈥� dad Hans De Goede is a much-capped Canadian rugby legend who captained sa国际传媒 at the World Cup and was twice named all-World.
Six-foot-one Sophie is all-everything in her own right at the high school level and has the Breakers ranked No. 2 in sa国际传媒 behind the Brookswood Bobcats of Langley in triple-A.
鈥淥ak Bay and Brookswood are going to be tough . . . real tough this year in the province,鈥� said Claremont coach Darren Reisig, almost wincing.
鈥淏ut we鈥檙e going to push them as hard as we can.鈥�
The Spartans, an honourable mention in the sa国际传媒 triple-A top-10 poll, showed their sheer tenacity last season when they placed sixth in sa国际传媒 despite a team with only eight players.
High school sports can come in waves and this season the Spartans had enough players come out to stock four teams. And even though size may be lacking, players such as Sierra Reisig and Lauren Montgomery-Stinson can sure perform well on the hardwood.
鈥淲e are the antithesis of Oak Bay in style,鈥� said Reisig.
鈥淥ak Bay is big, strong and half-court [with the likes of six-foot-one starters De Goede and Imogen White]. We are short, fast and with skilled shooters.鈥�
De Goede, meanwhile, isn鈥檛 the only starry all-rounder in the league this season. There is no shortage on Belmont, either. The Bulldogs hoops team features three players 鈥� Savannah Purdy, Gracie May, Sydney Belton 鈥� from the school鈥檚 volleyball team that won the sa国际传媒 quad-A high school championship last weekend in North Vancouver with Purdy named provincial tournament MVP.
Nobody can say the Bulldogs aren鈥檛 taking full advantage of their state-of-the-art new gym, with both volleyball and basketball, in the new Belmont school building.
鈥淸The new building] was 20 years overdue 20 years ago,鈥� quipped Bulldogs basketball head coach Brad Lidstone, who also runs a thriving hoops night league on the West Shore, which should keep the Bulldogs vying for basketball titles for years to come.
鈥淲e are really enjoying the new facility and keeping it busy,鈥� Lidstone added.
鈥淏asketball in the West Shore is growing and we should have some good teams coming up [at Belmont] in a few years.鈥�
This year on the Island in triple-A, however, must go through Oak Bay and Claremont.
鈥淲e believe that third spot is up for grabs,鈥� said Lidstone.
鈥淲e hope to be staying healthy and be playing our best basketball in January and February.鈥�
鈥淲e have been letting the players focus on the volleyball season so far, and enjoying that winning sa国际传媒 experience, and hopefully having that experience transfer across to basketball.鈥�
The Lower Island triple-A season began Tuesday night with Oak Bay and Claremont opening with wins over Stelly鈥檚 and Belmont, respectively.
The up-Island favourite in triple-A are the Dover Bay Dolphins. The top Island pick in double-A girls鈥� basketball are the sa国际传媒 top-10 ranked St. Michaels University School Blue Jags.
Basketball fans, and no doubt numerous U Sport recruiters, can catch a glimpse of many of the top players and teams in the province 鈥� including Brookswood and Oak Bay 鈥� this weekend at the annual Christmas Classic girls鈥� high school tournament. Most of the games are at the Claremont, Spectrum and Belmont gymnasiums, with the finals taking place on Ken and Kathy Shields Court on the CARSA Performance Gym at the University of Victoria.
