On Sunday, Apr. 23, Yorkton Minor Hockey and Melville Minor Hockey joined forces to host an introduction to female hockey skate.
The skate was organized by Fred Schrader, who is the coach of Yorkton Gardon Crushers, and Darrell Halarewich, who is the vice-chairman of the Melville Minor Hockey Association and in charge of all female hockey in Melville.
The skate was broken into two sessions 鈥� one for atom/peewee players and one for bantam/midget players.
The point of these sessions, according to Schrader, was to give female players in the area the opportunity to meet each other and to see what their options are for the next hockey season.
鈥淢ost of them have been playing coed, or 鈥榖oys鈥� hockey up until this point,鈥� said Schrader. 鈥淭his [skate] gave them a better knowledge of what鈥檚 out there and to give them exposure to it.鈥�
Until players reach the peewee age, there are no girl-specific teams for players around the Parkland area to play with. So, girls grow up playing on coed teams.
Schrader said making the adjustment from a supportive role on a coed team to a dominant, puck-carrying role on a female team is a big switch for the girls. It鈥檚 a lot for them to get used to.
But, he said it鈥檚 something the younger girls look forward to. They enjoy knowing that there鈥檚 female hockey in their future鈥� from the Parkland Fire (peewee) to the Gardon Crushers (bantam A), Parkland Lions (midget AA), to the Prairie Fire (midget AAA).
And having those female teams is important.
鈥淚t just helps them in development,鈥� said Schrader. He explained that unless a female player is an exceptionally strong player on a coed team, they can鈥檛 develop their puck-carrying or shooting skills as well as they could on a female team.
He said they also enjoy being part of the team in the dressing rooms.
The number of females in Yorkton Minor Hockey is slowly increasing. Thankfully, Schrader said they actually don鈥檛 have problems filling the female teams that do exist. But one area of the ice where there is a shortage of female players is inside the crease. Schrader said that there鈥檚 a shortage of female goalies around the entire province.
In order to fill all teams, they do have to rely on players from all around the region. While Yorkton and Melville are typically rivals when it comes to sport, in female hockey they combine to put the best overall product on the ice. There are also players from other towns around the Parkland.
鈥淵ou have to rely on the whole region. It鈥檚 always going to be a combo between Melville and Yorkton,鈥� said Schrader. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just not big enough here to be divided.鈥�
