Turn 16, and good things happen. That鈥檚 the kind of year it鈥檚 been for Micah Hart, whose 鈥渢hings鈥� pretty much all involve hockey.
The 16-year-old defenceman from Saanichton spent Grade 10 in Penticton at the Okanagan Hockey Academy, recently returned from an Under-18 International Hockey Federation high performance camp in England, and now has been invited to the Canadian women鈥檚 Under-18 team selection camp, Aug. 10-18, in Rockland, Ont.
Out of the 40 players invited to the camp, 22 will be chosen to compete in a three-game series against their U.S. counterparts later in August, and all participants will be monitored over the winter, with the chance of making the national team chosen for the IIHF World U-18 Championship in April.
鈥淒efinitely hockey-wise and school-wise, this is probably the best year of my life. It鈥檚 been awesome,鈥� Hart said, sitting outside the Panorama Recreation Centre, where she honed her skills playing on Peninsula boys teams.
At the academy, Hart was under the tutelage of 鈥渁mazing鈥� former national team players Rebecca Russell, the head coach, and assistant coach Gina Kingsbury, and played on a female team for the first time in her career.
鈥淭hey know what it takes,鈥� Hart said about her coaches. 鈥淭hey challenged me, and definitely challenged me as a hockey player.鈥�
Hart鈥檚 team competed in an Under-19 junior league, with half the teams hailing from the U.S. It was an eye-opener, playing against some of the top women in North America in places such as Washington, D.C., North Dakota, Minnesota, Boston, Winnipeg and Calgary.
In between games and travelling, Hart spent the mornings in school, and trained in the afternoons.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so organized. We have coaches, trainers, academy advisers 鈥� and I have a great family to live with up there.鈥�
This summer, school was barely over before Hart was chosen, along with five other Canadians, to participate in the IIHF high performance camp in Sheffield, England. The IIHF is trying to improve the global parity in women鈥檚 hockey to ensure the sport remains in the Olympics.
Eighteen countries were represented in England, with players scattered among six teams. Instruction included on-ice workouts, off-ice speed, agility and strength training, as well as seminars on nutrition, anti-doping and fitness. As the only girl from North America on her team, Hart wound up becoming a bit of an interpreter and role model.
鈥淚 was the only one who spoke English,鈥� Hart said. 鈥淚 think that was the fun part.鈥�
She found that players from other countries tended to look up to anyone from sa国际传媒 and the U.S., because they were so hockey-saavy.
鈥淚n sa国际传媒 we鈥檙e so exposed to things at a young age,鈥� said Hart, who was shadowed, in particular, by a couple of teammates from Japan.
鈥淭hey kind of clung onto me, but it was definitely hard to communicate with them. I learned a bit of Japanese while I was over there,鈥� she said, with a big smile.
The international players had the skills, but tended to be limited in their knowledge of the game. Particularly challenging were drills and presentations explained in English.
鈥淭hey鈥檇 poke me in the shoulder, and say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 really know what this is,鈥� 鈥� Hart said. 鈥淚鈥檇 maybe give them something to grab onto.
鈥淵ou get put in a leadership role, like it or not, and it puts you out of your comfort zone.鈥�
Given the future ahead of her, Hart might just be out of her comfort zone more and more often. Not that she expects comfort in her bid to work her way up in the national team program, and graduate with an American college scholarship in her skate bag. At 16, the hockey dreams are just itching to come true.
鈥淭hings are starting to happen now.鈥�
