As the 2019/2020 season is coming to an end (for everyone),
it couldn’t have been getting more exciting for this group of young men.
After a Silver Medal finish in the OMHA Championships last weekend, they were preparing for the prestigious 2020 OHL Cup. This is a qualifying tournament featuring the top 18 Ontario Minor Midget AAA Teams, along with 2 of the top US teams, leading them into the OHL Draft. The last opportunity to play together, as next year many may go in different directions. The last opportunity to showcase for the OHL draft. The one and only chance to ever play in the OHL Cup tournament. All gone in a matter of minutes.
This is the first time an Oshawa AAA team had made it to the OMHA Championships in quite some time, and the first time getting to the OHL Cup in a couple of decades. Now, the disappointment of it all being washed out was visible on a few faces that I saw last night.
Words cannot describe the disappointment. Not for us adults, but for the players. Not just our boys, but every player out there, girls and boys, working to get to that Championship or reach their goals. Getting within a game of a RED HAT, or knowing they played their last game of minor hockey, or played their last game with their best friends….and didn’t even know it!
It was a sad moment for thousands of hockey players and families. If you are NOT a ‘sports’ family, you may laugh at those comments. But for the families that LOVE sports, you know what I’m talking about. Our HEALTH is more important, but nonetheless, these sport moments are life lessons and memories for these players.
As this team picks up and moves on, I wanted to write this last article to remind these boys of one thing. You have accomplished your major goal this year, which many teams can’t say they did. The coaching staff and team set the goal of getting to the OMHA’s and qualifying for the OHL Cup – and you achieved both! Our practice jerseys were “suppose” to have a slogan on the back, but due to some print issues this year, they never got put on. Our slogan was #2020OHLCUP. No need to say more. Goal achieved!
After the Early Bird tournament in September you had a TOP 10 ranking in Ontario, and just this week, you had made it back into a TOP 10 OHL Cup ranking!
As an adult, as a parent, there is nothing sweeter than seeing a group of young men or women, achieve the goals they set out to get. After all, this is why we put them into team sports. To learn how to work within a team, to figure out how to cope with failures and how damn good it feels when you have success, and learn from it all!
As this team wraps up the season, keep an eye on the upcoming OHL Draft the first weekend in April (unless it gets rescheduled now). There is some great talent on this team! GO GENS GO!!