Rather than focus on the score, the Notre Dame High School (NDHS) curling team wanted to focus on their attitude, as they faced-off against some of Alberta’s best.
From March 1 to 3, the NDHS curling team represented the North East Zone in provincials, and although they didn’t walk away with as many wins as they would have liked, what they gained was worth its weight in gold.
“Heading into provincials, I told the girls that this is a great opportunity to just get more experience and see what provincials is all about,” expressed Marcelle Vallee, team coach.
Third for the team, Raelle Vallee said, “We had no expectations because we knew there were going to be a lot of other really good teams, we knew we may or may not win. We just wanted to win more on the ice than win on the board, and to get that experience to be even better next year.”
What surprised many of the teams competing was not only how young the girls were, but also how new the team was.
This was their first season curling together, and for two of them, it was their first kick at the sport.
“Only two of the girls have curled before, the other two didn’t really have much experience,” noted Vallee.
Keeping this in mind, they knew they might not meet the mark against some of the more experienced teams.
In fact, they were surprised they had won zones and earned their spot in provincials at all.
Marissa Gallant, lead for the team, had only been curling for two weeks when they competed in zones.
She was learning the sport as they practiced for their turn in the spotlight.
“We are just really happy that we made it,” expressed Georgia Doonanco, team skip. “There has been huge improvement on this team, because it was brand new. For us to be curling altogether at once, and not to have much experience in terms of how we know each other as curlers, the fact that we won zones and went to provincials was huge for us.”
Their positive energy carried into their trip to St. Albert, where no matter what it said on the scoreboard, the four girls were just happy to be there.
“It was more about winning on the ice than on the scoreboard,” Doonanco said. “We didn’t want to be that team that was yelling at each other and aggressive. We wanted to be having fun.”
This was one of the aspects of their game that made Vallee overjoyed as a coach.
“That makes me proud. They were very positive. They had a lot of fun, and I think that is just a great mind set going into next season,” noted Vallee. “If you come out of it and are down and sad, and you never want to curl again, that’s not good for the sport or for you.”
She added, “I’m so excited for them, because they’re all such positive girls. They get along really well and they developed as a team very well, which is rare, especially with teenagers… they were great with that part of it too, coming together so quickly, and I couldn’t be more proud of them, their attitude, and how well they represented their school, the curling club, and the Town of Bonnyville.”
Overall, the girls estimate they placed ninth, but said they couldn’t confirm because unless you made it onto the podium, you couldn’t really tell where you fell on the scoreboard.
For Olivia Scott, team second, and Gallant, it was all about gaining experience and getting ready for next season.
“I learned how to play the game, because I had no idea how to play. I also learned about the different shots and the difference between a good one and a bad one,” Gallant said.
It also gave the team an opportunity to learn how the ice surface differs at each arena.
This, Scott said, is one of the things she loves about curling, “everywhere you go the ice is different... You have to be quick to adapt.”
But ultimately, what the team took away from provincials was where they need to grow.
They agreed there are areas where they can improve together and as individuals.
“They all have little goals they want to work on personally, but they have also set-aside a goal as a team that they want to work on together,” explained Vallee.
Despite their short time as a full team, and losing one of their key players due to surgery and having to find a last-minute replacement, the NDHS curling team succeeded in their own way.
Raelle said, “From what we learned from this year, we are just hoping that next year we can just try and learn from our mistakes and just do even better.”
