Maryann Caldwell
Paige Coulter- Vansickle is a twelve year old grade 7 student at Millbrook South Cavan School in Millbrook. Unbeknownst to her and her family, Paige was being watched by hockey scouts this past October. As a result, she has been invited to play hockey on an International select hockey team called Octane Elite. Invited participants will be travelling to Sweden and Finland in the spring to participate in the World Select Hockey Invitational Tournament, playing other teams from USA, Latvia, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Norway, Czech Republic and Finland. The trip also includes an educational tour of Europe; touring cities, visiting museums, castles and historic landmarks.
Photo: Supplied
Paige has been invited to an elite hockey team travelling to Europe this summer.
From the moment that Paige and her mother Linda received the invitation, they have working tirelessly fundraising to raise the funds for the trip, through social media (Facebook) and handing out flyers to local businesses.
When asked to explain how it felt to be chosen to go to Europe to represent Canada, Paige explains; “This experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to take my hockey to the next level. This team that I have been asked to play on consists of some of the top players from all over North America. This is a huge expense for each player as we pay our own way. My family and I are fundraising to help offset costs, and would appreciate any level of sponsorship to make this experience possible”.
Paige is the youngest of a hockey family of four – her brothers Alex (15), Blair (17) and Craig (21) all played growing up. According to her mother Linda, “It has been challenging raising 4 hockey players, but it’s been wonderful. Paige was about 2 years old when we knew she loved skating. We would get her on the ice and she wouldn’t come off, so we could see, even back then that she was tenacious”.
When asked why she thinks she was chosen for the team, Paige replies, “I think my skating, my shot and my hockey sense helped me achieve a spot on the team. I do a lot of training. During the week I go to school and I have a great teacher, Mr. McNamara (Mac) who puts a lot of time into coaching many of our teams. I usually have 2-3 on ice practices a week plus 1-2 nights of dry land training. On the weekends, our team usually has 1 or 2 games. These can be home or away games so sometimes we travel as far away as Kingston. I also work on my stick- handling every night after school. I play right wing but I really enjoy playing centre best”.
Paige began her hockey career in Millbrook, where she played until she was 9 years old. She then tried out for the Peterborough Petes’ Minor Atom AAA and was the only girl to make the team! This year she plays for the Clarington Flames PeeWee AA team.
When asked if there were any sports figures she follows Paige says “ I follow Conner McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL. He played for the Erie Otters last year. He is a hard working player. I admire his speed on the ice and how humble he is about his ability. He is a team player and a very good leader….someone I want to be like”.
A true athlete, Paige enjoys all sports. “I play field lacrosse for the Kawartha Field Lacrosse team in the summer. I play volleyball, basketball, soccer, floor hockey, ultimate Frisbee and 3 pitch on school teams.”
To help Paige make her hockey dream come true, donations can be made at: https://www.gofundme.com/yvj8q4dg or by dropping into the The Millbrook Farm and Pet Supply or The Millbrook Times.
