Winning a medal isn't the main objective, but it sure would be nice.
For a group of local basketball players, that's the mindset as they prepare to compete as Cariboo-North East at the B.C. Summer Games in Abbotsford. The 14-and-under girls squad will be a definite underdog when tournament play begins on Friday. However, that doesn't mean the team will be conceding anything to powerhouse entries from the Lower Mainland that have selected their players from the most densely populated regions of the province.
"Our team has come together really well and I think winning a medal could be possible for us if we work together and just stay calm and do our best," said Nina Gajic, a 14-year-old guard. "You never know what it's going to be like but we've played some of the teams there and I feel like we can beat lots of those teams."
Added guard/forward Hannah Loukes: "Even if we don't win any games, as long as we play our best and work our hardest, it's fine."
Cariboo-North East, also known as Zone 8, will tip off against Vancouver-Coastal in its first game, 11 a.m. Friday at Abbotsford senior secondary school. Later in the day, the Zone 8 all-stars will take on Fraser River. On Saturday morning, in the team's last game of pool play, Thompson Okanagan will be the opponent. Playoffs will start Saturday afternoon and medal games are Sunday morning.
Teams in the other pool are Vancouver Island-Central Coast, Fraser River A, Vancouver-Coastal A and Fraser Valley.
All members of Cariboo-North East are from Prince George.
"We had a small amount of people try out for the team," said Craig Douglass, who is co-coaching with Wade Loukes and getting additional help from Nicole Schlick, a local high school graduate who plays university basketball for the Waterloo Warriors. "In the bigger centres, there are 50, 100, maybe 200 kids showing up and trying out for the team. There's a lot more kids so they certainly have a wide range to choose from. We're also hindered by geographics. Our area is basically north to the Yukon border and east to Alberta but in our case all our girls are from Prince George because it's just not feasible for somebody to come down for practices from Fort St. John three times a week."
The Cariboo-North East roster is rounded out by Paige Unger, Courtney Bouwman, Jasmin Schlick, Camryn Douglass, Alyssa Brown, McKenna Arsenault, Talisa Ferguson, Erin Unger, Julia Kreitz and Grace Caillier. Together with Gajic and Hannah Loukes, the players bring a mix of height, speed and skill to the floor.
"And we've got work ethic," said coach Douglass. "We've got some girls that don't know how to say 'stop' and we can count on to get in there and grind."
In preparation for the B.C. Summer Games, the Zone 8 all-stars have been practicing for about two months. As well, they participated in tournaments in Langley, Burnaby and Edmonton and had some positive results.
"We had some big wins and some tight, close, disappointing losses but those are things the girls have grown from and are learning from and understanding what it feels like to lose those close games so that they don't want to do it again," Douglass said. "That in itself can be inspiring. We hope to go down and turn some heads and get a few wins. To finish in the top four would be fantastic for us."
The Zone 8 basketball team and a large contingent of other Prince George athletes were scheduled to start the journey south via bus at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. The opening ceremony for the B.C. Summer Games will be held tonight.
