Playing for the Iroquois Falls Ringers
I started to play Ringette because they needed a goalie... it was a week before their big tournament in Sudbury and they had a good team but no one that really took to fill the net. The coach called and talked to my dad and he asked me if I wanted to play. It's like hockey but the sticks have no blades and the puck has a hole in the middle of it. I was ok with the changes and signed up to play. We couldn't find a left hand ringette blocker, they were all sold out... everywhere, not even the companies that made them had any and they weren't making any more my size until next season. That's what happens when you start late in the season. We finally found one in BC, they shipped it out in the express one day we will get it in a week priority mail plane. It arrived the next Thursday afternoon, we picked it up at the post office on the way out of town to the tournament. Hey can I see it before we play? Gee I was hoping there wasn't too many different things like this... I figured it out when I got out on the ice. Honestly it wasn't that hard... We were only playing Novice level. I learned how to play Ringette that tournament, did an OK job of it. We finished 2nd, foiled in the last 54 seconds of the game on a odd bouncing ring to a team we had already beaten that weekend. What can you do.
The following year I got some training from one of the best young ringette goalies in Quebec. Some of the Ladies from Team Canada came to Iroquois Falls for a training camp and with them they brought Dawson. He use to play on the girls team but now isn't allowed to because the National and Professional teams are reserved for Girls Only. He helped point out some of the difference between Hockey and Ringette. Any time I can get pointers from someone of that calibre I always take notes and try my hardest to execute new moves, try new things, add tools to my box of goalie skills. No two coaches are the same, but they all have valuable information to process. I still have my Scott Murry Goaltending jersey on, maybe next year I will get a Ringette Jersey and try to blend in. LOL
It was this season that the grumbling began. Seems some people don't like it when boys play Ringette (not our team LOL, they love me). But it's a sport reserved for the girls because they don't have what it takes to play hockey... let me tell you one of those girls caught me in the middle of my goalie mask the other day and put a big bend in the double bars that ran up the middle, so I don't think many of the boys have anything on her at this level. I was told I had to move up a level because I was a boy. Ya, sure, we know it was just because the other teams couldn't beat us with me in net... I didn't always play in net, we gave them a chance some times. But the excuse they were using was because I was a boy, which is not in line with Ringette Canada's views on the topic as they are trying to get more boys playing the game, maybe even high level all boys teams to play against each other in tournaments like the girls play. At one point they refused to play our team... I got a lot of support from our organization, they stuck up for me and eventually things were straightened out. The sport definately needs some help when it comes to gender issues. But see I play out some times... but frankly they don't want to see me hammering rings in the net all night either. LOL
Honestly I need to move up a level higher than I should be playing with. Next year I hear the older team will be looking for a goalie. Even the U16 team has a hard time scoring on me, the girls from Team Canada snuck a few in the net but I'm pretty sure it was because they were using those fancy expensive ringette sticks.
2022 Regional Champs the Iroquois Falls Ringers - This is the crew we took to the Birth Place of Ringette to play against the rest of Northern Ontario for the rights to be called Number One. 6 Games, 4 Shutouts and a final round win 7 to 2 vs the next best team. We maybe a small team from a small town but we got this.