GGHA has jerseys, name and growing numbers

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By John Curry

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EMC Sports - The Goulbourn Rockets have blasted off.

Thanks to a $5,000 donation which the family of Joan Thorneycroft of Stittsville made in her name to the new Goulbourn Girls' Hockey Association (GGHA) as seed money to help the new organization get up and running, the young players now have jerseys, a name and growing numbers. They are quickly improving their skating and puck handling skills while, most importantly, having fun.

"They're having a blast," GGHA president Cathy Bureau says about the players, ranging in age from 5 to 14, with most 11 years old and under. "The word is spreading."

The GGHA has recently purchased jerseys for the girls. They are a unique bright blue, a colour which no other girls' hockey organization in this area sports.

In addition, as a nod both to environmental responsibility and also to cost, the new jerseys are reversible, with a lighter coloured second side. This means that the players in effect have two jerseys in one, ideal for inter-squad practice sessions as well as for future exhibition games.

And were the players happy to get their new sweaters? You bet.

President Cathy Bureau tells how one player sleep in her new jersey for three nights when she got it, she was just that excited about it.

Adopting the name "Rockets" which is emblazoned on the front of the jerseys along with a stylized image of a rocket ship, worked out well. No other local organization uses this name so it is uniquely a GGHA name.

But even more importantly, Rockets is the name of a team which Joan Thorneycroft played for back in her youth when she played hockey for her school teams. This made it the unquestioned choice as the name associated with this new Goulbourn Girls Hockey Association.

The GGHA decided to honour Joan Thorneycroft not just by using the name Rockets but also by presenting her with a GGHA jersey before a practice session at the Johnny Leroux Stittsville Community Arena in Stittsville. Bearing number 34 on the back and with the Goulbourn Rockets name and logo on the front of the bright blue jerseys, GGHA president Cathy Bureau presented the jersey to a beaming Mrs. Thorneycroft.

The GGHA is slowly growing in numbers. Starting the season with 18 players, it now has 26 players signed up and registration is still open, with a pro-rated registration fee in place. Any girls interested in trying the sport are encouraged to try it and if they like it, great and if not, then that's OK too and there is no fee charged.

President Bureau has an explanation of why the numbers of growing. "They hear how much fun it is," she says about the new players joining up.

The fact that the GGHA has four adult coaches who run the on-ice practice sessions is one reason why the girls are not only having fun but are quickly developing their hockey skills. This means that there is a very low coach to player ratio on the ice, something that means that each player gets a lot of personal attention and instruction.

"They are just soaking it up," president Bureau says about the way that the players are accepting the instruction, noting that they have all improved so much since the beginning of the season. Indeed, she herself, as a renowned former American university hockey player, also takes to the ice to lend a hand during practices.

President Bureau admits that the main issue right now for the GGHA is ice time. The GGHA has a regular one hour slot on Wednesdays at the Johnny Leroux Stittsville Community Arena and then tries to rent an hour of ice somewhere on the weekends.

Right now, playing exhibition games or being in a league is not a high priority. Rather, the focus is on the players having fun, getting lots of ice time and puck handling experience under the guidance of avid instructors and, most importantly, having fun.

President Bureau has been most impressed with the way that parents have pitched in, helping out on the ice or in other ways.

"I'm just so impressed with the community support of the parents," she says, noting how the parents stepped up to help run the GGHA's recent first fundraising raffle.

Winners in this raffle were Robert Crummy, a signed Chris Neil Senators jersey, Collette St. Amand, Senators 100 level tickets, Larry Tysick, Senators 100 level tickets, JR Goulet, a 12 bottle wine basket, Ellen Rose, a 12 bottle wine basket, Karen Prefontaine, an Endeavor Sports private lesson, and Kim Aubin, an Arbonne gift basket.

The GGHA has also been active in other off-ice ventures. The organization had a Christmas party and also had a float in the Christmas Parade of Lights at the end of November.

Indeed, this parade float generated a lot of comments and interest along the parade route and helped the new organization become better known in the community.

The GGHA may have a fun windup session at the end of the season with special activities and some games but nothing definite has been planned as yet.

But president Bureau cannot say enough about the generosity of the Thorneycroft family and Joan Thorneycroft's ongoing enthusiasm for the new organization.

The GGHA is using the $5,000 donation to help with the purchase of the jerseys, pucks and ice time. The organization had started the season with basically no cash, which made the donation all that much more appreciated.

For Joan Thorneycroft, who is now 80, her youth growing up as Joan Rowland in East Angus, Quebec on the banks of the St. Francis River near Sherbrooke certainly involved hockey.

There was an open air rink near her home and her two brothers were there all the time, playing hockey. She ended up going there as well and started to skate and eventually play hockey, initially using hand-me-down skates from her brothers.

Her school had a girls hockey team which played against other local schools. Joan Thorneycroft, who played centre, admits that her school team was not the best team but that they all enjoyed playing together and felt like a family.

She captained the girls' hockey team at Stanstead College where she went for grade 12 but except for a couple of other occasions, this ended her hockey playing career. But it did not end her hockey loving days. She was a Toronto Maple Leafs fan for years, mainly because when she was young, she and her father would listen to Maple Leaf games on the radio. But with the advent of the Ottawa Senators, she became a Sens fan. Wade Redden was a favourite player of hers.

She watches lots of hockey on television and admits to getting excited doing so, constantly urging players to shoot at the goal.

Joan was very sports minded in her youth and throughout her life, not only playing hockey but also golf, curling, volleyball and track and field.

She likes to see hockey played by youth, both boys and girls, because it encourages physical fitness and discipline while emphasizing team play.

The donation by her family in her name to the GGHA came about as a result of a conversation which her daughter Diana had with her about what kind of legacy she would like to leave. At the time Joan said that she would like to be able to provide financial assistance to help a young girl pay for skates and other hockey equipment. Diana investigated a couple of opportunities to do this but eventually the family settled on making the $5,000 donation to the new Goulbourn Girls' Hockey Association as seed money to help the organization get going. In this way, she is helping not just one young girl but many young girls have the joy of being able to learn about and play hockey.

More information about the GGHA can be obtained by contacting president Cathy Bureau at cathy.bureau@hotmail.ca.

john.curry@metroland.com




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