A pair of Sylvan Lake teens brought home medals from box Lacrosse nationals in Regina.
Sisters Bridgette and Camille Nielson each represented Alberta at the national championships, which took place from Aug. 14-20.
Bridgette won gold with the U22 team, marking the first-ever national championship by an Alberta team at that level.
What set the tone for the gold medal game was the previous semi-final game that took place earlier in the day, Bridgette said.
“We came out fast and hard and everyone played so well. We went into it thinking we’re going to win there were no what ifs.”
Discovering that the win was the first ever for the province in the event didn’t feel real at first, Bridgette added.
“In the room our coaches mentioned it but it never clicked before the game, but, after the game with our coaches keeping on telling us that it was the first-ever gold win it finally set in.”
For a team comprised of various members of the Junior Girls Box Lacrosse League who either tried out or were recruited including four girls from the Red Deer Riot, the victory was a big one.
“In the gold medal game we played the Ontario team and they had over 300 girls try out for their tryouts so for us to be primarily a recruitment team and beat them was huge,” Bridgette said.
The win also wouldn’t have been possible without the coaching staff Bridgette added.
“Our coaches were fantastic and used each girl’s abilities to their advantage.”
Bridgette’s sister Camille played on the U17 team which won bronze.
Losing out on a chance to advance to the final was tough, Camille said.
“Everyone was feeling down and worried since we lost the last game and thinking that we could lose the bronze medal game too.”
However, recognizing the need to move forward the team was able to go into the game with a good mindset, Camille added.
“It just clicked, we were like no yesterday happened but we are just going to move on and we’re gonna play our game.”
For both girls prior to nationals, they shared the experience of being a red shirt on the team where they weren’t guaranteed a roster spot.
“Making it as a red shirt means you are an alternate. You go, you practice and you train with the team right up to nationals but then you’re not on the roster. So the fact that both of us ended up getting a roster spot by the time nationals came was incredible because things like that don’t happen,” Bridgette said.
While nationals are now done, both girls will have lasting memories from the experience.
“Getting on the bus and then everyone taking a deep breath in and being like holy we’re all here and we’re going to nationals right now is something I won’t forget,” Camille said.
“The experience of playing at such a high level with an amazing group of girls on the big stage where people were wanting to watch was amazing,” Bridgette added.
As well throughout the entire experience, the community has been incredibly supportive, the girls added.
“I definitely didn’t realize how many people really knew about us so it was just like seeing congrats at nationals and it was honestly really cool and amazing to see all of the support,” Camille said.
@sarahbaker
sarah.baker@blackpress.ca
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