NAIT Women’s Hockey Win Third Straight Title

Happy April Blog Followers!

In my last blog, I ended it saying that I look forward to sharing the end result with you and that I hope it is going to be great news. Well….. here we go! THE NAIT WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM ARE THE 2014-2015 ACAC CHAMPS! The feeling is still so amazing even though it has been a couple weeks since we won. Winning three championships in a row, what more could you ask for?

I had so many feelings going on after the game. It was my last ACAC career game and we won again. Three championships in my five years, I’m speechless. I was telling some of my friends that I never understood how people could cry from being so happy, and that day, it all made sense to me. As soon as the buzzer went, I was balling my eyes out hugging all the girls off the team, my friends, coaches, and my parents. It wasn’t just tears dripping down my face, it was basically a waterfall. I find it hard to believe that five years have went by so quick because I feel like I just started two years ago, but in the end, there’s no better way to end my time at NAIT.

I praise NAIT for being an amazing school to play with and get my degree at. Myself, along with our team, has had so much support over the years and that is a huge reason as to why we have been successful these past three years. NAIT is an amazing school and they care a lot about the athletes, their schooling, the sport, and just making sure they have the best experience. This is why I constantly tell people that choosing NAIT was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Best five years of my life.

My coach, she is also a big reason as to why we are champions three years in a row. Her determination, her intensity, her passion, and the way she cares for her team is simply amazing. Without her, and our assistant coaches, none of this would have happened. She pushed us hard, and sometimes we disliked her for it, like any players feel at some points, but in the end, we now know why she does what she does because it made us champions. Best coach I have ever had.

My team. Don’t even know where to begin. I’ve played with many girls throughout the five years spent here and have made many long lasting relationships. I am so proud of the girls this year and how far we came. There were questions as to if we could do it at some points, but in the end, I think we looked around the room and looked at the girls beside us and across from us, and we believed in us and ourselves. We never gave up, we showed up every day wanting to be better. We pushed each other in practice, and battled hard. The passion we showed, the drive, and the determination made us the team we were. In the end, we all wanted the same thing and that’s why we were successful. We all had the same goal in mind. There was nothing I wanted more than to have the new players experience the feeling of being a champion wearing the Ook jersey. The smile on their faces, the hugs, the laughs and the celebrations made me so happy. Seeing the happiness on my coaching staffs face, the players faces, my parents faces, put the biggest smile on my own.

That is all I have for now and I look forward to spending my summer filling you guys in on what I am up to. May be a little different this summer, but it will still be fun! 🙂

Sherri Bowles, NAIT Women’s Hockey #15