Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy senior boys handball team capped a successful season with a bronze medal at the ASAA Tier II Provincial Championship in St. Paul, Alta., Saturday (April 27).
In pool play at the provincial championships, the OLS boys posted a record of 2-1 to place second.
In the semifinal round, the Avalanche lost a hard-fought game 32-21 to eventual gold medal winners Old Scona Academic School from Edmonton.
The loss sent the OLS boys into a bronze medal match against Master’s College from Calgary where they medalled with a 28-24 victory.
The Avalanche had advanced to the provincial championship by defeating the Canmore Collegiate High School squad 25-13 in a zone qualifier on April 22 for the South Central Tier II championship.
The OLS senior girls handball team also competed at the provincials. It was the girls’ second time at provincials, having competed last year at Clearwater Academy in Calgary.
After going 1-2 in their round robin pool, the girls squad lost in a crossover match and placed seventh in the competition.
“It was a great weekend,” said coach Trevor Goodfellow, who split duties with Gregory Buchko. “This is the third for the program here and a lot of the boys have been with us the whole time. Right now we have a lot of Grade 12s as starters, but younger players are interested hopefully they can move through the program.
“Ideally, if enough students get interested, we’d like to have a junior varsity program as well. We’ll see if that comes about.”
Team handball pits players, seven per side, against each other on a court roughly the size of two basketballs courts. Scoring is into indoor soccer-sized goals.
The sport began in the school system in Edmonton, where it’s been in place for about 20 years, said Goodfellow. About five years ago, Alberta Team Handball requested the sport be added as a test sport in the high school system.
“There were about 20 teams the first year,” said Goodfellow, “and it’s grown each year since. It’s a popular sport. The kids love it and requires just fundamental skills like running, catching and throwing, but it’s a very athletic sports so fitness is important. It’s also physical, there’s a lot of contact.”
At the provincials, Matthew Buchko led the offence with 33 goals, while Joseph Bush had 22, Mate Mackenzie, 21 and Thomas Walton, 18.
The senior boys team included: Carter Behm, Buchko, Bush, Jeremiah Ellis, Max Landi, Mackenzie, Drew Massaro-Buckley, Tyler McBride, Noah Nadal, Justin Samms, Bryle Soriano and Walton.
At the provincials, the girls, coached by Lindsay Fagan, beat Notre Dame from Bonnyville 15-4, then lost 25-21 to eventual gold medal winners Blessed Sacrament. Their third game was a 19-5 loss to Edmonton Christian.
After placing third in their pool, the girls played a crossover game against Ecole Mallaig which they lost 18-11 to put them in seventh place.
