Three Cochrane girls are set to embark on the experience of a lifetime as they look to impress at the Alberta Summer Games in Leduc from July 14 to 17.
Guard Alyssa Petterson and forwards Magdaline Smith and Sadie Nelson, are among the lucky basketball players to recently make the cut for the Zone 2 U14 girls team.
“It’s exciting,” said Smith. “It was a little surprising to make the team since I’m one of the younger players.”
This was the first time the 12-year-old – who has been playing since she was four, and comes from a basketball-crazy family – had tried out for the team. Smith thought it would be a really fun experience, considering she, “lives, eats, and breathes basketball.”
“All three are very different,” said head coach Randy Peron. “One’s a player who likes to bump and crash, getting rebounds in key areas. One’s a driver and one’s an outside shooter.
“They each have different specialties which complement our group of players going forward.”
For Peron, this is his third time going to the tournament and even though he has never coached at this age-level before, it’s a learning experience that isn’t likely to fluster him, considering his track record.
“Both of the previous times I went to the Games, I’ve taken teams to the gold medal,” he said. “Realistically, I feel we have a chance to do the same this year. It’s harder to predict though, because these kids are 12 and 13-years-old, but we’ve been working hard as a group already, and that is something we use to define ourselves.
“There’s a great chance for us to be successful.”
The team has their first tournament coming up in a couple weeks, which Peron feels will give the girls a very good definition of where they’re at, before they head to other competitions in Cranbrook and Kamloops during June to continue preparations.
“Hopefully that will be enough time for us to get ready,” he said. “Either way, it’s going to be fun.”
