Two Comox Valley field hockey players have been selected to the U18 Regional Women’s High Performance Team.
Devon Phillips and Taylor Ruest are among 28 other girls from Vancouver Island selected to the High Performance Team. This prestigious group practises Friday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. at either UVic or at the artificial tur Sportsplex in Duncan. Travelling these distances shows how dedicated these two young ladies are to this game.
Phillips, a Grade 12 G.P. Vanier Secondary School student, has played field hockey for six years starting in Grade 7 at Courtenay Middle (now Queneesh Elementary). She has also played with the Comox Valley Field Hockey League (www.cvfhl.ca ) for the past four years.
When asked what made her decide to play field hockey she said, “It was an exciting, high speed game that was different from any sport I had played.” She added that her dad, Kim Phillips, had inspired her to play as he had competed at the provincial level in this sport.
Her favourite thing about playing field hockey is scoring goals. She says that playing on the High Performance Team has been a real challenge and that she learns new skills each week.
Ruest is in Grade 11 at Highland Secondary School. She was also introduced to field hockey in Grade 7 and has played in the Comox Valley Field Hockey League since that time, thus making this her fifth year of playing.
She recalls, “I tried it (field hockey) at school for fun, hated it at first, and loved it by the end of my first game. I like it because there’s tons of running and stick-handling.” Ruest says her preferred position is midfield "because it allows me to play both defensively and offensively. I like the speed of the ball on the turf; it feels great when you send it racing to a teammate.”
Ruest’s aspirations in field hockey are to receive a scholarship and play at a university. She would also like to coach future players and teach them this exciting game. Ruest has expressed that the High Performance Team has really given her some new skills to work on and a super experience playing with other great players.
"To make it to this level of play, Taylor and Devon have had to compete with some of the very best players on Vancouver Island," a CVFHL spokesperson said. "They are very dedicated and committed players that work hard at continually improving every aspect of their game; a coach’s dream. The U18 High Performance tournament that these girls are working towards competing in will be held April 8-10 in Surrey. Good luck girls."
Any girls ages 12-18 interested in learning to play field hockey can register at the Lewis Centre until Feb. 28 or come to the Driftwood Mall this Saturday, Feb. 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. For more information go to www.cvfhl.ca.