A silver finish is good enough for the Carnarvon U14B team.
The girls ball team had an astounding season finishing with a 32-2 record heading into district finals last weekend at Rom Knott Park in Central Saanich.
They went 2-2 on the weekend to finish second to a View Royal team with only slight disappointment.
“We didn’t quite play our best ball on the weekend, fortunately two teams go through to provincials,” said coach Bill Hawkins.
The year included topping the podium at a Mainland tournament that featured top teams in the province.
“They had a remarkable season. The girls, some of them started as early as August of last year,” Hawkins said.
“We’ve worked with the girls since they’re eight and nine years old most of them. They’re a hard working group of young athletes.”
A key part of the successful season Hawkins says is the coaching staff of six. Three are young women from the community, one is a former college ball player and another is entering her senior year of university.
“I think part of the success is successful athletes coming back and helping the next generation. Having young adult female coaches work with them is inspiring,” Hawkins said. “It’s community building … Those experiences that the young women had, they remember they had similar experiences and that’s why they come back.”
The girls head to provincials July 11 to 13 in North Delta.
“We know we have played with the very best teams in the province so we know we’re capable of that,” the coach said. “The expectation is we play to the best of our ability. Just play our best ball; that’s our goal.”