Nearly 1,900 participants signed up to race in one of the events, which included a five-kilometre run/walk, 10-km run/walk, duathlon, half-marathon and kids triathlon, held over two days of June 12-13. Some competitors travelled in from as far away as England and Germany.

“I think it’s great,” commented Denis Boyer, who journeyed to Footstock from Drummondville, Quebec, moments after completing his first-ever half-marathon.

“It’s really interesting to see so many people getting involved and getting fit.”

Boyer was talked into taking part by some of his Calgary colleagues.

He said he was happy with his time of roughly two hours, 30 minutes, especially given the difficulty of the countryside course.

“If it had been a bit more flat it would have been easier,” he said.

“Those hills were tough, really tough.”

And while Boyer and others travelled in from afar, Footstock director Ann Locke-Pope said the race weekend is a community event at its core.

Runners get started on the 10km race June 12 at Footstock. Photo by Jeremy Broadfield

“The board members are all from Cochrane, 70 per cent of the participants are local, most of the volunteers are from Cochrane,” said Locke-Pope, who served in her third year as director.

One of the local standouts over the course of the weekend was St. Timothy School student Thomas DeBiasio, 17, who placed third overall out of more than 140 male competitors in the 10-kilometre run/walk.

“It felt really good,” said DeBiasio, who officially posted a time 38:56, roughly three minutes off the winner.

“I just started running in Grade 8 and I really enjoyed it.”

DeBiasio also thanked his coach, Frank Emshey, and family members for their support during the race.

The St. Timothy student was one of 420 competitors overall to take part in the sold-out 10-kilometre run/walk, as organizers were forced to cap the number of participants in each event this year due to ever-increasing demand.

The Kids Triathlon also sold out in just 28 hours.

“I think the reputation has grown for a well-organized event,” Locke-Pope said.

“I think for people who run road races all the time it’s something different . . . for whatever reason, the sun always shines on Footstock.”

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Because of this, Hockey Canada will likely be sent a series of recommendations by the study’s authors to ban physical contact in peewee. Author of the study, Dr. Carolyn Emery, a sport epidemiologist and athletic therapist as well as a hockey coach and parent, said more than 1,000 game-related injuries and 400 concussions could be prevented each year in Alberta alone.

Cochrane Minor Hockey President Blake Fleming said the study’s findings are valid and should be taken seriously by all those involved with the game.

“I think hockey’s going to have to pay attention to what (Emery) has to say,” Fleming said. “And what she’s saying is hit hockey is substantially riskier than non-hit hockey.”

While Fleming said Cochrane Minor plans to wait and see how Hockey Canada and Hockey Alberta react to the proposed ban, at least two local coaches who teach the game at senior levels believe removing bodychecking from the peewee ranks would be a mistake.

Bodychecks in peewee hockey, like this one laid on Bow Valley Timberwolves winger Andrew Forster, right, last October could soon be outlawed if Hockey Canada accepts the recommendations of a recent University of Calgary study. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

Dana Boothby coaches young adults on the Junior B Cochrane Generals and has also had three sons come up through the Cochrane Minor Hockey system. He said the longer kids wait to begin bodychecking the more likely they are to hurt themselves or others.

“The way I see it is you need a certain amount of time to learn a skill,” he said.

Boothby said he feels studies like the one led by Emery tend to focus on a few “remote examples.”

Boothby added that his sons progressed through the bodychecking training just fine.

Kevin Willison, head coach of the Edge School Prep team in Springbank, echoed Boothby’s comments.

“It certainly is tougher at our level to teach them how to bodycheck than when they’re younger,” Willison said.

Willison said even at the atom and tyke age levels kids are constantly running into each other.

“It’s really about teaching kids how to protect themselves,” he said. “Also, when you talk to scouts a lot of them fault kids who are unwilling to play in the high-traffic areas.”

To gain their results, U of C researchers compared the frequency of injuries in Alberta peewee hockey to Quebec peewee hockey, where bodychecking is not allowed. Fleming pointed out that elite players in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League don’t seem to be at a disadvantage despite learning to bodycheck at a later age.

“That would suggest that certainly for the elite player it doesn’t make a difference,” he added.

Despite this, Fleming said he is not advocating for a ban on peewee checking, he is simply suggesting the U of C study be taken seriously.

All coaches with Cochrane Minor Hockey have to gain Hockey Alberta accreditation and all peewee players must participate in a hitting clinic before being allowed to compete.

Both Fleming and Boothby said there is a very natural progression through the various age levels in the current system.

“Still, the evidence suggests that kids are getting hurt more than they should be,” Fleming noted.

Boothby said as long as precautions are being taken, he sees no problem with continuing to allow bodychecking in the peewee game.

“Bodychecking is a part of hockey and it’s not going anywhere.”

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Looking at this year’s college draft, most Canadian Football League analysts expected Cochrane offensive lineman John Bender to be selected in the first round.

After all, the former Cochrane High Cobras standout was ranked No. 2 overall last month among all prospects by the CFL’s Amateur Scouting Bureau.

However, in the weeks leading up to the draft , Bender made it very clear that he will be returning to the University of Nevada Wolf Pack for his senior year in the fall and after that plans on taking a run at the National Football League.

Draft day came May 2, and Bender’s name was absent from the first round selections. Then, the second round passed and still no word.

Former Cochrane Cobras offensive lineman John Bender grew up idolizing the Calgary Stampeders and could now play for them one day after being drafted by the team May 2. Photo courtesy University of Nevada

Naturally, the hulking 6’8, 147-kilogram gridiron star became a little impatient while watching the online draft tracker and went for breakfast. It was while dining that Bender received a text message from a friend saying the long wait had paid off — the Calgary Stampeders had drafted him in the third round.

“I didn’t think I would fall all the way to the third round but that’s fine, it all worked out for the best,” said Bender, who was officially selected 17th overall, during a phone interview.

“I’m with the Stampeders and could maybe play in front of my family and friends someday.”

Bender grew up rooting for the Stampeders and said it was an honour to be selected by the organization.

The 23-year-old noted that his unwillingness to commit to the CFL was likely what sent him down the draft board and funny enough cost him a national television interview with TSN.

“They were going to talk to me over the phone when I got drafted but they only covered the first two rounds live,” Bender said laughing.

Nevertheless, Bender had no hard feelings about his draft day slide.

“I see it more as a sign of respect,” he said.

“(Teams) are not sure if they are going to see me next year. I am going to keep working hard in the off-season and hopefully have a good year with the Wolf Pack and then hopefully the NFL comes calling.”

Bender has been rumoured to be a late-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft by numerous scouting websites. This past season at Nevada, Bender and his fellow offensive linemen helped pave the road for the No. 1 rushing attack in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

After selecting Bender, the Stampeders also chose two other offensive lineman in hopes of filling a void left by the recent retirement of veteran tackle Jeff Pilon. Calgary Stamps head coach John Hufnagel hinted that Bender could one day find himself in Pilon’s spot on the depth chart.

“John Bender’s a very athletic offensive lineman,” Hufnagel said in an audio interview released by the team. “He played guard. I look to see him come in and compete at an offensive tackle position.”

If Bender does join the Stamps, he would be reunited with fellow Cochranites Rob Cote, who plays at fullback, and receiver Blaine Kruger. Bender played with Cote in high school and the two later joined Kruger on the Victoria Rebels of the British Columbia Football Conference.

“Obviously they’re great players and it would be good to play with them again,” Bender said of his fellow Cochrane products.

And although his senior season is still months away, Bender is already looking forward to rejoining the Wolf Pack, who officially kick off their 2010 NCAA campaign Sept. 2 against Eastern Washington.

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Coming into this season, Vancouver Canucks forward Mason Raymond set some lofty goals for himself.

Twenty-five goals, 28 assists and 82 games later it’s safe to say those goals and more were reached in what quickly became a breakthrough year for the young Cochrane winger.
“I always feel like you’re learning something and moving forward,” Raymond said during a recent phone interview.

“Every day I am learning what it takes to be a professional hockey player and to continue to be an effective player for years to come.

Effective would be a good word to summarize Raymond’s 2009-10 campaign to date, as the 24-year-old set career highs in every noteworthy statistical category this season and became a staple in the Canucks’ lineup, appearing in every one of the team’s regular-season games.

Mason Raymond will look to be an impact player for the Vancouver Canucks as they open the NHL playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

Of course, none of Raymond’s accomplishments are the topic of discussion now, as the National Hockey League quickly shifts focus to the post-season, and the top 16 teams begin the marathon chase for the Stanley Cup.

The Canucks locked up third in the Western Conference by winning the Northwest Division and now have a date with the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round. Raymond believes the key for his team is to take things one game at a time.

“There’s never an easy game, it’s a tough league and any given night these teams come to play,” he said. “I think, at the end of the day, if we are focused on what we can control and doing our thing we are a tough team to beat.”

Up front, Raymond won’t be the only one looked upon to ignite Vancouver’s offence, as the Canucks also boast the NHL’s top regular-season scorer Henrik Sedin and his playmaking twin brother Daniel. On the back end, Olympic gold medal winning netminder Roberto Luongo will look to find his top form after struggling somewhat down the stretch.

“(Luongo’s) only human. Everybody goes through ups and downs,” Raymond said. “He’s finding his consistency and is a huge part of our club. We will rely on him a great deal down the stretch.”

If the Canucks are able to get past the Kings, tough challenges could come from the Western Conference’s top two teams, the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.

Raymond made his post-season debut during a second round series with the ’Hawks last season, potting two goals and adding an assist as the Canucks fell in six games. Raymond said he learned a great deal from that series and is ready for any challenge awaiting him during this year’s playoff run.

“At the end of the day, you are going to have to play the toughest teams if you hope to go all the way,” he said.

And when the heated NHL playoff action finally comes to a cool, Raymond will find himself in unfamiliar territory as a restricted free agent — meaning he can entertain new contracts from other teams but the Canucks are given the opportunity to match any offer and will be awarded compensatory draft picks if he leaves.

When asked about his possible endeavours in the off-season, Raymond said he plans to let his play do the talking.

“The only thing I can control is what I do on the ice,” he said.

The Canucks open the playoffs against the Kings on April 15 in Vancouver.

Medicine Hat Tigers captain Wacey Hamilton of Cochrane hopes to be drafted by an NHL club this summer. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

Tigers’ Hamilton clawing at the pros

And while Raymond may have multiple contract offers to weigh this summer, fellow Cochranite Wacey Hamilton is looking for just one chance to prove himself in the pros.

The young captain’s season in the Western Hockey League officially came to a close April 11, as his Medicine Hat Tigers fell 3-2 in overtime to the Calgary Hitmen to drop their Eastern Conference semifinal series four games to two.

Much like Raymond, Hamilton set numerous career markers this season, finishing the regular-season campaign with 24 goals and 41 assists in 67 games.

“As captain you can’t expect to be a leader for your teammates if you’re not doing your part,” Hamilton explained.

Hamilton also proved to be a consistent force in the playoffs for Medicine Hat, notching eight points in 12 games, as the Tigers topped the Kootenay Ice and pushed the No. 1-seeded Hitmen to six games.

If he had it his way, Hamilton would already be the property of an NHL team; however, injuries last season cost him any chance of being drafted. Now, the 19-year-old heads into the off-season looking for a shot at the big time.

“I am just going to stay optimistic and see what happens,” he said.

Springbank’s Joe Colborne signed a three-year deal with the Boston Bruins March 31 after two seasons with the Denver Pioneers of the NCAA. Photo courtesy University of Denver

Springbank scorer inks deal with Bruins

Hamilton and Raymond aren’t the only local skaters looking for a steady job in the NHL, as Springbank’s Joe Colborne officially signed a three-year contract with the Boston Bruins on March 31.

Colborne, the 16th-overall pick in 2008 NHL Draft, had his time in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cut short this past season, as his Denver Pioneers were upset by the Rochester Institute of Technology in the opening round of the Division 1 Men’s Hockey Championships.

After signing with Boston, Colborne reported to the organization’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins, and played in the team’s six remaining regular-season games, picking up two assists in the process.

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“I don’t really cry normally but I just started right there on the court with about a minute left,” recalled the 22-year-old hoops star, who was playing for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. “It was the best result I have had in my five years.”
Wilson’s personal achievement aside, the Huskies’ bronze was the first-ever medal in women’s basketball for the school.

“We were ranked high all year,” Wilson explained. “We were a quick team and were very deep and able to play a variety of players. When someone didn’t step up someone else would.”

Originally a volleyball player, Wilson became attracted to basketball because of its physical nature. She finally decided to give the sport a shot in high school, joining the Cochrane High Cobras.

Wilson’s leadership and poise on the court would quickly draw the attention of coaching staff at Calgary’s Mount Royal College (now University) and she was recruited to play Alberta Colleges Athletic Association ball after graduation.

After two years with the Mount Royal Cougars, Wilson got a shot at Canada’s top post-secondary league with the Huskies.

“All of the girls were bigger, it’s crazy,” Wilson said of the transition to the university ranks. “They’re bigger, better and stronger.”

Wilson hit the gym constantly and built up 20 pounds of muscle over her three seasons with the Huskies.

“I had to learn to shoot a lot better and just be a bigger and better player.”

All of the Cochranite’s hard work would pay off, as Wilson developed into a consistent weapon for the Huskies, averaging nearly six points and four rebounds per game in her final season.

Now, the young Cochrane athlete has sights on earning a professional contract with a European league. If that doesn’t work out, she plans to fall back on her sociology degree and hopefully work as a police officer in Calgary or Saskatoon.

“I have played on a team for four years that I travel to Europe with,” Wilson said. “We are planning to go again (to) compete against club teams and national teams. From there, I will probably e-mail coaches, hire an agent and try to get my name out there.”

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The nail-biting second half as shot after shot failed to find the bottom of the basket.

The celebratory dogpile at centre-court after the final buzzer rang.

Yes, March 12 was a day the St. Timothy Thunder won’t soon forget, as the little school of 320 students — only 150 of which are in senior high school — captured its first-ever high school championship in any sport with a 44-34 victory in the Calgary junior varsity girls basketball Division 3 city final.

Behind the historic St. Timothy victory is a group of 12 girls that head coach Brent Breit describes as “very special.”

“They all work so hard,” said Breit, who led the same crew to St. Timothy’s first-ever junior high championship a few years prior. “I told them it doesn’t matter what the other team’s doing as long as we are giving our best, and they did that all season long.”

Proof of the Thunder’s effort throughout the season isn’t hard to find, as the team went a perfect 9-0 in the regular season and outscored the opposition 518-228. In fact, the Thunder were so good that they even began scheduling games against senior varsity opponents.

St. Timothy point guard Leah Loeppky believes the key to her team’s success lies in player chemistry.

“Everyone is really close, we all get along and play as a team. This is a great group of girls,” Loeppky said.
Heading into the post-season as the top-ranked squad, the Thunder didn’t really miss a beat. St. Timothy opened with a 51-13 thumping of No. 8 seed James Fowler in the quarterfinals and followed that up with a 66-39 win over the No. 4-seeded Timberwolves from Bishop McNally.

In the championship game, St. Timothy faced off against Crescent Heights, a school with more than four times the student population. Unfortunately for the Thunder, Crescent Heights had already been pre-determined as the host school for the city championship games, meaning the Thunder would be forced to play on their opponent’s court despite being the higher seed.

St. Timothy post player Carissa Alexander said she was ready for a battle coming into the final.
“Crescent is definitely the toughest team in the league,” Alexander said. “We knew they would come out and play hard. They are really strong defensively.”

And that Crescent Heights defence seemed to stymie the Thunder in the second half, as their halftime cushion of 15 points was cut to just eight after three quarters of play.

“We were getting a little more tired and our nerves got the better of us a bit,” Loeppky recalled.
During the second-half break, Breit attempted to relax his young group and remind them of the things they had done well all season long.

“We made a few mistakes down the stretch,” Breit said. “I had a feeling coming in that it was going to be one of those situations where we just have to keep everyone calm.”

In the fourth quarter, the Thunder continued to struggle in the offensive end but relied on steady defence to hold the Crescent Heights girls, who led the league in scoring during the regular season, to just nine points to secure the victory.

As the final buzzer rang, screams from the Thunder players filled the air as they stampeded to centre court and piled on top of each other. The dozens of St. Timothy fans that had made the trip into Calgary to erase any notion of home-court advantage for Crescent Heights exploded in applause. Numerous players and parents alike could be seen wiping away tears of joy.

“We were all just so happy,” Loeppky exclaimed. “It was an amazing feeling.”

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Local hard courts will be busy in the weeks ahead as high school basketball teams battle it out for a coveted spot in the provincial finals.

And for the Cochrane High Cobras senior boys team to be successful they will need serious input from two team members living under the same roof.

Head coach Jamie McLellan and his son Jared, a senior guard on the team, will be looked upon to lead a spirited Cobras team that has eyes on making a run all the way to the big prize.

“The goal is to win provincials,” Jamie said bluntly. “I think when we started the season off and I told the parents that they said ‘Yeah sure, whatever,’ but the kids have really started to believe in themselves.”

Cochrane High Cobras head coach Jamie McLellan, left, and his son Jared believe the Cobras have what it takes to contend for senior boys 3A provincial title. Photo by Patrick Price.

Basketball, and winning for that matter, have been in the McLellan blood for a long time. Jamie led Winston Churchill High School to the 4A provincial title in Grade 12 and starred as a shooting guard at the University of Lethbridge for five years. He also coached Jared’s team in Grade 9 at Calgary’s Montgomery Junior High School as the team ran all the way to the city championship.

Jared, meanwhile, is no slouch in his own right. He played on the Cobras football team, first as a receiver and then as a quarterback this season before being sidelined by multiple injuries. As well, during this year’s basketball campaign, Jared has consistently found himself atop the Cobras scoresheet.

“He’s a really good shooter,” Jamie said of his son. “Football has been good for a lot of these kids because it’s taught them to be tough and aggressive. Jared certainly has benefited from that, he’s become more aggressive. It’s a more physical game than it was 10 years ago. The refs let the kids play now.”

Jared said that if he had to choose between football and basketball he has always felt more at home on the court.

“I’ve grown up with it, played it (basketball) my whole life,” Jared said. “I am better at it too.”

Jared noted that he likes having his father as his coach because, “He pushes me more than other kids because he expects more and that helps me to become a better player.”

Having said that, Jared said he and Jamie make sure to keep their work on the court separate from their family life.

“He makes sure that everyone knows I am just another player on the team and we make sure that he is my coach on the basketball court, but when we leave there he becomes my dad again,” said Jared, who hopes to follow in Jamie’s footsteps by earning a spot on the U of L basketball roster next season.

But before any post-secondary aspirations can be realized, the father-son duo will first face a tough road to the 3A Provincial Championships in Medicine Hat March 18-20.

Jamie said that while the Rocky View basketball division is not as strong as last year — when Springbank and Chestermere finished one-two in the province — the south-central zone could be very tough, with the Cobras, Canmore and Springbank all contending. The south-central zone will be only granted two automatic berths to provincials, but teams can also qualify through one of two wild card spots.

Jamie, who is currently in his second season at the helm of the Cobras, said his team’s best asset lies in their depth.
“You look at the games we have won and invariably at least eight, nine kids are on the scoresheet and most games it’s more like 10 or 11,” he said.

The McLellan duo and the rest of the Cobras senior boys team, ranked third in Rocky View behind Springbank and the 4A squad from Airdrie’s Bert Church High School, kick off post-season play against the Bow Valley Bobcats March 3 at 7:45 p.m. at Cochrane High.

The Cochrane High senior girls team will also face Bow Valley in the opening round, with that game going at Cochrane High at 6 p.m. on March 3.

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Local lugers Tristan Walker and Justin Snith serve as perfect examples of how age is just a number. At 18 years old, the two will compete together in the Vancouver Olympics before thousands of Canadian fans. Regardless of what happens on the world’s biggest athletic stage, Feb. 17 will be a day the two will never forget

Tristan Walker and Justin Snith were fearless daredevils growing up.

There was simply no tree too high, no jump too steep and, needless to say, there were a number of scrapes, bruises and broken bones along t he way.

So it’s no surprise to their parents that the two 18-year-olds will now compete in the Olympics in luge, where athletes fly down an ice track at speeds in excess of 140 kilometres.

“(Tristan) enjoyed being off the ground more than on the ground,” recalls his father Bruce Walker. “He used the garage door as a ride, he would stand on the back of it and someone would push the button.”

Snith’s father, Steven, has similar memories of his son.

“He was a pain in the ass,” Steven joked. “No, he was a pretty good kid. He was always doing something, playing sports, trying something new.”

Tristan, a native of Bearspaw, took his first run down a luge track when he was nine and Justin, who lives in Calgary but has family ties to Springbank and Cochrane, followed close behind at age 10.

Both were technically too young for such a high-risk sport at the time, but they both quickly fell in love with it and enrolled in introductory camps at Canada Olympic Park.

The basic fundamentals of luge are simple enough, athletes lay on their backs and rocket down a track using their calf muscles and shoulders to steer. The athlete who reaches the bottom of the track in the fastest time is declared the winner; high-level competitions are usually decided by just thousandths of a second.

Coaches were quick to recognize the potential in both Tristan and Justin and the two were selected for Canada’s junior luge program as singles sliders.

After some success as individual competitors, the young sliders were paired up in 2008 and instantly became good friends both on and off the track. Their competitive chemistry came almost instantly, Justin recalls.

“We are good friends. We do have that bond, but it also has a lot to do with the fact that we think similarly on the sled,” Justin said. “We’ll drive similar lines, we’ll try similar things. I think that really helps too.”

When competing, Tristan is on top and charged with steering the sled on the right line while Justin is tasked with rolling out of each turn smoothly to maintain the highest speed possible.

With only 20 runs under their belt as a doubles team, Tristan and Justin surprised everyone by placing second at the Canadian Championships in early 2009 in Whistler. It was at this point that the two athletes, who weren’t even old enough to vote at the time, realized a trip to the 2010 Olympics might be possible.

“We were sitting there after in the place we were staying in Whistler going ‘We’re second in Canada and there’s two doubles teams that go to the Olympics, we have a shot at this,’” Tristan recalls.

After a strong rookie season on the junior World Cup circuit that saw them win bronze at the World Championships in Nagano, Japan, Canadian coaches decided to test Tristan and Justin on the senior circuit for a few races.

It was determined that the young duo would need three top-20 finishes on the World Cup to qualify for the Vancouver Games.
“The original plan was to take us to the first three races on the senior circuit and then send us to junior for the second half of the season,” Tristan recalls. “No one expected us to qualify.”

Making the situation even tougher for the young sliders was the fact that on the senior circuit only the top-10 ranked sleds gain automatic entry into World Cup races. The other competitors, like Tristan and Justin, are forced to partake in qualifying runs at each event through the Nations Cup circuit.

Tristan and Justin returned to familiar ground for their debut on the senior circuit last November, placing second in qualifying and 13th overall in the World Cup at the season-opening event at Canada Olympic Park. They followed that up with a 17th-place showing in Innsbruck-Igls, Austria, and another 13th-place performance in Altenberg, Germany — where they also finished ahead of Canada’s top luge doubles team, brothers Chris and Mike Moffat, for the first time.

The duo’s unlikely quest was completed; they had qualified for the 2010 Games.

Justin, who will be Canada’s youngest luge competitor at the Games, describes the time since learning he would be competing on the world’s biggest athletic stage as a “huge whirlwind.”

“Tristan and I are just flying by the seat of our pants,” he said. “We’re just trying to enjoy the ride, hang on and see what happens. Honestly it hasn’t fully hit me yet.”

The two took some time off from the World Cup circuit in early December to train on the official Olympic track. Tristan said a realistic goal for the Olympics is a top-10 finish, something they have not accomplished to date on the World Cup circuit.

“Really my goal is to have two solid, clean runs,” Walker said, adding that if the two finished in the top 10 it would be “unreal, absolutely unreal.”

Wolfgang Staudinger, head coach of the Canadian national luge team, said a top-10 finish would be amazing for his young protégés.

“They’re extremely dedicated, they do everything for the sport,” said Staudinger, who himself earned a bronze medal in luge doubles at the 1988 Calgary Games for West Germany. “They did an awesome job during the summer getting ready for the season and they do lots of technical work. Having said that, they have a lot to improve on and now that they have raced with the big boys they know what they need to improve on and have a long road ahead of them of course.”

One clear example of this dedication came when Tristan was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus last June.

Although he was very ill, the young athlete refused to take any medication for fear of being drug tested.

“He always has to be careful, whether it’s medication or risk of injury,” Bruce said.

“He joked to me that cutting the lawn was too much of a risk because he might cut his foot or something,” Bruce added, laughing. “I told him not cutting the lawn would have a higher risk of injury.”

If all goes well and the two sliders are able to stay healthy, Staudinger said he is very excited to see what they can accomplish going forward. The veteran coach noted that luge, which made its Olympic debut at the 1964 Games in Innsbruck, Austria, has been dominated by a handful of countries over the years; however he believes Canada’s fortunes in the sport are slowly changing now that the country has two training facilities — Calgary and Whistler.

Of the 108 Olympic medals awarded in men’s and women’s individual luge, as well as doubles, all but four have gone to athletes from Germany, Austria, the Soviet Union or its successor nations and Italy.

Currently, three of the top four positions in the World Cup doubles overall standings are occupied by German pairs. Tristan and Justin sit 21st in the overall rankings, however, they skipped two events to focus on training.

Tristan said luge receives a great deal more exposure in Europe than in Canada and athletes are groomed from a very young age.
“Their ski hills actually have toboggan runs on them, so they take toboggans down the hill,” he said.

“The same way we have ski lessons in school it’s mandatory for them to try every winter sport.”

Bruce added that the most impressive part of his son’s accomplishment might be that some of the top competitors on the World Cup circuit have been sliding since before Justin and Tristan were born.

“Some of the guys they are competing against are true legends of the sport,” said Bruce, who admitted to spending many late nights watching the online feed of his son’s World Cup times while he is off competing in Europe. “I don’t know if it’s really dawned on (Tristan) what an accomplishment this is.”

And although luge has given him more than he could have ever dreamed, Tristan conceded that his sport can be very dangerous at times, something he and Justin found out the hard way earlier this season when they crashed at a World Cup stop in Winterberg, Germany.

“People always talk about football as being a game of inches, this is a game of centimetres,” Tristan explained.

To avoid injury and perform well at the Games, both Tristan and Justin agreed that consistency is key. Each doubles team will take two runs down the Whistler track Feb. 17 and the sleds will be ranked according to their combined time.

You just have to take it like any other run,” Justin said. “We have had training runs there, we know we can slide well, we know we can pull a fast start there, which has been a problem for us.”

The two Canadian sliders will also have another advantage over their international competitors at the Games, as Bruce estimates 60-70 of Tristan and Justin’s closest friends and family will be on hand to witness their Olympic debut.

“When he goes by we’ll probably only see him for about 14 seconds of the run,” Bruce said. “But there’s so many people going out there. It will be fun.”

Family and friends aside, Justin said the community support in general has been overwhelming. One recent example of this came when he and Tristan were met with overwhelming cheers from thousands of fans at the Springbank Olympic torch relay celebration in January.

“It’s constantly building,” Justin said. “I have been blown away these past couple of weeks ever since the Olympic announcement with how many well wishes I have gotten. It’s been truly surprising.”

Steven, who met his wife Andrea while the two were attending Springbank High School, said his son’s dedication to his sport of choice has been remarkable and that he deserves all the accolades he will receive in Whistler and beyond.

“I am sort of taken aback by how good of shape he’s gotten into and how much he’s really taken to it — he really enjoys it and the people he is with,” Steven said.

And while there will be millions of people watching from all over the world, Tristan said that he intends to be completely focused on the task at hand when he lines up at the top of the track in Whistler.

“You don’t even think,” he said. “You have done so many imagery runs of the track you know exactly where you are at all times.
“As soon as the visor goes down, you know everything that needs to happen in the next minute.”

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The signs of a gifted young hockey player are all there.

A team-first mentality, the ability to compete against more experienced players and a knack for putting the puck in the net. And the best part of all is that she’s just 14 years of age.

Yes, Cochrane’s Samantha Sutherland is a coaches’ dream, just ask her current bench boss Mikko Makela.

“She’s a very good player, very skilled, everything’s good,” said Makela, current hockey director and head coach at Warner Hockey School in southern Alberta where Sutherland debuted this season. “She’s a ninth grade player who plays like an eleventh grade player.”

After roughly 50 games with Sutherland under his direction, Makela — a Finnish professional hockey player who spent six seasons in the NHL between 1985 and 1990, has already declared her the most skilled 14-year-old female hockey player in Canada.

“That’s what I believe, there are maybe other people who think a little differently about some other players, but I’m not too far I don’t think,” he said.

Sutherland made the jump to the Warner Warriors midget team directly from peewee hockey in Cochrane. Competing with her team in the Junior Women’s Hockey League — featuring elite teams from all over North America — often forces the 5’2”, 122-pound forward to line up against players as much as five years older than her.

None of it seems to have slowed down her offensive production, however, as Sutherland sits third on Warner in scoring with 21 goals and 21 assists — an even split for a player who prides herself on her playmaking skills.

“I try to always work hard every shift and try to set up good scoring chances for my team,” Sutherland said. “I try to control the play as much as I can.”

Sutherland said her first year at Warner has been better than she ever imagined.

“Being away from my family took a bit of time to adjust to but everyone involved in the program here is so nice and has been so supportive to me, they are like my second family,” she said. “Also, adjusting to playing Midget AAA was a real challenge because the play is so fast and most of the players are quite a bit older than me.”

As well, the small-town atmosphere in Warner, which at a population of slightly more than 300 people makes Cochrane seem like a metropolis, has quickly grown on Sutherland.

“Everyone in the town knows us and says hi, it makes you feel special,” she explained. “If you come to a home game on Saturday night you will see a lot of Warner pride and fans who haven’t missed a home game in six years.”

Now, Sutherland will take a brief hiatus from Warner and head north to the Lakeland Region for the Alberta Winter Games Feb. 4-7. There, she will serve as captain on a Zone 2 girls hockey team featuring seven fellow Cochranites.

It will be the young forward’s second trip to the Games as she helped Zone 2 capture silver in 2008.
Zone 2 head coach Claude Vilgrain, a former NHLer in his own right who now coaches the Calgary Bantam AAA Outlaws, said choosing Sutherland as his captain was a no-brainer.

“She has the experience, the skill level, awareness and hockey sense that is above her age level,” Vilgrain said. “She is a very smart player and very driven player as well and that helps.”

Other Cochranites on the team are Hannah Olenyk, Emily Potts, Cylenna Alexander, Andie Boeckman, Channia Alexander as well as netminders Jade Walsh and Kirsten Chamberlin. Chamberlin, specifically, was a surprising selection for the team as she is just 11 years old — the minimum age required to participate in the Games.

“We just had no choice but to pick her, she did what she had to do,” Vilgrain said of Chamberlin, who stops pucks for the division-leading Cochrane Rockies Tier 1 Peewee girls team of the Rocky Mountain Female Hockey League.

As for projections on how his team will perform, Vilgrain said they will be competitive but face stiff competition from the Calgary players on the Zone 3 team — including his own daughter Cassandra — and the Red Deer team representing Zone 4.

“Chemistry is the key,” he said. “The teams have to come out of the gate pretty quick and the ones that are able to do this will be the most successful.”
Sutherland, meanwhile, is excited for the competition to get underway.

“I just try to lead by example and try to keep the team positive and focused on playing our best,” she said. “If you are out there working hard the whole team will work hard.”

And if she has it her way, Sutherland hopes that hard work will someday lead her to Division 1 college hockey and possibly a spot on Team Canada.

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Cochrane archer James Webster doesn’t need a mirror to correct the finer points of his pre-shot routine, his twin brother Mark does it for him.

The two 15-year-olds, who have been perfecting their skills with a bow every day for roughly seven years, are classified as mirror-image twins, meaning they are identical, but James is right-handed and Mark is a lefty. This setup works well in archery practice because the two face each other when they line up to fire.

“It’s about having fun. We don’t care who comes first as long as the other is second,” James said. “It’s like we have our own personal coaches who watch us while we watch them . . . I think if I didn’t have my big brother to help me I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Mark, who is one minute older, said that if he and James had it their way they would practice 12-15 hours a day or more.

Their infatuation with the sport began at a non-electric amusement park back home in England. Just eight years old at the time, both Mark and James spent most of the day firing traditional longbows at an on-site range.

“They must have stayed there for three hours. They didn’t go around the rest of the park,” recalls the twins’ father Tony Webster.

Tony signed the boys up for at a nearby club where coaches quickly determined that the two were naturals.

In September 2008, the Websters moved to Cochrane and Mark and James became members at the Cochrane Archery Centre. They practice twice a week in Calgary and daily in the basement of their house where Tony has setup a makeshift range.

“Back home the coaches had a lot longer to work with us and they taught us the basics,” Mark said. “Out here the coaches are really good, they have worked with the Koreans who are the world champions.”

Now, the twins’ seeming obsession with finding the bulls-eye has earned them tickets to the Alberta Winter Games, held Feb. 4-7 in Alberta’s Lakeland region, where they will compete in the ages 15-17 recurve bow division.

Scores earned by fellow archers from around the province are not made public so Mark said it will be very interesting to see how he stacks up to the competition.

“Consistency is the key,” Mark said. “You have to be like a robot and concentrate. If even one of your steps is off — your foot’s off, your grip is too high, where you rest the string to your chin, anything — it can throw you off.”

James added, “There’s just so many variables, there are so many things that can go wrong. That’s the fun of it, being able to perfect everything that could go wrong.”

While many archers have switched to a high-tech compound bow, James and Mark prefer the tradition recurve style because it requires more skill to perfect and is the only discipline contested at the Olympics.

“It’s a dark side because it’s ridiculously easy,” Mark said of the compound bow.

“There’s a magnified scope and you pull a trigger, you’re not shooting normally, it’s like a gun.”

Beyond the archery range, the Websters said they have enjoyed life in Cochrane a great deal; both Mark and James attend school at Cochrane High.

“We went to a few schools and they didn’t feel right but we went there and it was perfect,” James said of his school. “There’s no other place we want to be.”

The twins said they view the Alberta Games as a building block to bigger things in the future, as both have dreams of representing Canada in archery at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

“We live in Canada and we want to shoot for Canada,” James said.

And, staying true to their brotherly bond, neither Mark nor James was willing to declare himself better than the other.

In Britain, James was club champion, but Mark was more consistent week-to week.

“It really depends on the week,” Mark said.

“There’s no real way to determine who is better,” James added.

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