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31_V1_OAK_SEPT22.qxd ✔ 36 Championship holes ✔ Home of the Canadian Open qualifier ✔ Complete premier practice facility ✔ Golf clinics, Jr. Golf Camps & private coaching taught by qualified professionals ✔ Best Golf Pro Shop in the area! www.hiddenlakegolf.com (905) 336-3660 www.hiddenlakegolf.com (905) 336-3660 JOIN NOW FOR 2007 & PLAY THE BALANCE OF THIS YEAR WEEKDAY MEMBERSHIP $2,499 + GST / $500 deposit FULL 7 DAY INTRODUCTORY $3,899 + GST / $750 deposit 7 DAY RESTRICTED $2,899 + GST / $500 depositWeekday & after 1:30pm Weekends & Holidays BALANCE DUE BY MARCH 1st, 2007 SportsOakvilleBeaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2006 31 ■ By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Members of the Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers girls' field hockey team didn't limit their learning to the classroom last season. Despite losing their best player, the sen- ior Trailblazers have taken what they learned from Effie Petrou to help continue their progress. As a result, last year's Cinderella team may not be checking out before midnight this season. Although the loss of a player of Petrou's calibre -- she helped Ontario win a national under-18 title this summer -- could have been crippling, she continues to influence the team after graduating and moving on to York University. "It's one thing to teach the game as a coach but it's another to have someone on the field to direct the players," said Iroquois Ridge coach Marie Guest. In addition to giving the team one of the Halton high school league's top players, Petrou's impact helped a young Trailblazers team steadily improve throughout the season. Iroquois Ridge fin- ished the season fifth in a tightly contested 10-team Volpe Division with a 3-2-1 record. In the playoffs, the Trailblazers upset both White Oaks and Abbey Park before being edged 1-0 in the Halton semifinal by the eventual provincial high school cham- pions, Notre Dame. "If you had asked them at the begin- ning of year, they would have said we'd be annihilated (by Notre Dame)," Guest said. Wednesday, the Trailblazers opened the 2006 season with a convincing 3-0 victory over Holy Trinity, a team that finished a point ahead them last season. Guest said the ability of core players like Laura Hunter, Anita Tewary and Emily Stacey to absorb Petrou's on-field guidance and pass it along to younger players has been a key in ensuring the team continues to progress. "They're great leaders on the field," Guest said. "They're very bright -- they've all got 95 (per cent) averages -- and they're great leaders in the school." Stacey set up Iroquois Ridge's first goal Wednesday with a great cross-field pass to Kathleen Sullivan. Sullivan would add her second of the game on a nice rush down the left side and Stacey capped the scoring on a goal-mouth scramble. While goalie Kristy Cameron-Silcox wasn't tested often Wednesday, Guest said she'll be an important player for the Ridge. Kira Hanley, a strong hockey player who carried her skills over to the field game, is another player who will play a key role. Ridge adds junior squad Another positive for Iroquois Ridge is for the first time the school is fielding a junior team. That will allow more girls to gain valuable playing experience. In the past, juniors had to bide their time waiting for their chance to play. But for those who did step into starting roles as juniors, they're now benefiting from playing sen- ior. "Some of the older girls have been play- ing at this level for four years," Guest said. "That's helped immensely (in) getting used to the speed and the pace of the game." Guest cautions that the team will have five first-time players this season but said the team is more confident in its abilities heading into this season. "I wouldn't say overconfident. We know there are still very good teams out there," she said. "We've got good team players. We don't have any superstars but they all work very well together." In other senior action Wednesday, the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils defeated Bishop Reding Royals 5-0, St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders downed Christ the King Jaguars 4-0, White Oaks Wildcats beat Georgetown Rebels 5-0 and E.C. Drury Spartans blanked T.A. Blakelock Tigers 2-0. The previous day, Loyola Hawks edged M.M. Robinson Rams 1-0 and the Abbey Park Eagles' game against Lester B. Pearson Patriots was postponed. Loyola and Abbey Park compete in the Richardson Division. -- Herb Garbutt can be reached at sports@oakvillebeaver.com. Field hockey 'Blazers still benefiting from last year ■ By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It's a risky proposition, but one the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils believe they are ready for. The Devils will make the jump to Halton high school Division 1 senior football this sea- son after a strong season in Division 2 last year. The Devils went 5-1 in the regular season and added two more playoff victories before falling to Burlington Central in the Halton final. But last year's success isn't the driving force behind the move. "I think a school the size of OT should be playing Division 1," said coach John Orlando. "If you're going to play university football, you've got to learn to play it properly." OT lineman Jeff Campbell is one of those players who have an eye on continuing to play OT steps up to Division 1 football ■ See Blakelock page 32 LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER FIELD HOCKEY BEGINS: Holy Trinity's Jackielyn Leach (left) and Iroquois Ridge's Sami Proulx chase the ball during Halton high school senior girls' field hockey play Wednesday. Ridge defeated the Titans 3-0.