The Canadian U17 women’s development squad played in 11 games during their tour of the Netherlands, where they matched up well against some of the best junior teams that the world has to offer.
The Canada U17 women’s team travels home after an amazing opportunity in the Netherlands, playing in the Holland Elite Cup, where they were up against the top teams in the Netherlands and across the globe. They then went on a tour through the Netherlands – where they played top club and national teams – gaining valuable international experience at a young age.
The Elite Cup was a great success for team Canada, as they finished with a 2-4 record, good for ninth place in the tournament. Canadian Head Coach, Roel Van Maastrigt, understood the difficult task that was ahead of his team going into the tournament and is proud of how the girls performed, given that most of the players on the team had little to no international experience.
“The international level is different than it is in Canada,” said Van Maastrigt. “The opportunity for the girls to play internationally against the top teams in the world is huge, and that’s what’s needed for these girls to develop further.”
Van Maastrigt and the rest of the team had plenty to say about the performance of cousins Grace and Laine Delmotte. Grace, who was one of the most experienced players on the team had just completed a U21 tournament in Ireland, while Laine showed her skills from game one onward.
“Grace Delmotte is the captain, and is extremely strong,” explained van Maastrigt. “Laine is developing really well, the moment she started playing in the midfield she started developing better and better. She’s moving up the ranks really fast for such a young age.”
Midfielder Avery Davis had her first taste of international action and plans on building from it and learning from the experience.
“It was really cool, one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” expressed Davis. “I was a bit nervous at the start, but I think my confidence grew over the whole tour.”
Imagine being 16-years-old, packing your bags, and travelling to a country halfway across the world to play international hockey with a team that has not had much training time together. Some of the players’ first time meeting each other was at the airport. Despite the hurdle ahead of them, the players took the challenge head on and grew as a unit throughout their trip.
“We really worked as a team, and I think as every game went on, we progressed immensely,” said Davis.
“It’s great to play strong teams as the depth in players is so huge in Holland,” said Van Maastrigt. “The growth over the tournament is amazing as the players are getting to know each other better and better, while getting used to the international level.”
All of the girls on the team got better and better throughout the tournament and will look to take the experience that they gained back to Canada, where they can show off their newfound talents.
“This international hockey just pushes them further to control the basics, to make sure every pass is spot on,” said Van Maastrigt. “This tour is crucial in the development of young, potential high performance players. If you see them from the first day to the last day the improvement is huge, but when we get back to Canada and watch them play you’re really going to see the difference.”
As the girls pack their bags and head home, they know that they will remember what they learned in Holland for years to come.
Canada wraps up 2019 Holland Tour, Gaining great experience and skill along the way. Photos/Frithjof De Beijer
