Westwood High starts coed after-school hockey program

Westwood High School has launched a new coed hockey program for students after school.

There are currently 26 students in grades 7, 8, and 9 who are participating in the after-school hockey program. These students are bused to Complexe Sportif Saint-Lazare for training and scrimmage after the school day ends on Monday and Friday afternoons.

“We just started our program this year,” noted Marie-Josée Coiteux, principal of Westwood Junior in St-Lazare.

“It’s not Sports-Études, in the sense that our school day is not altered at all. Our school day ends at 2:20 p.m. on a regular basis. Our kids can get on a bus at 2:30 p.m. to go to the rink on Mondays and Fridays,” she added.

“It’s a development program. We have a coach on Monday and then on Fridays we have power skating for the kids. On Mondays, they are on the ice for two hours. The first hour is very hockey school, developmental, and in the second hour they scrimmage amongst each other. Our focus is really teamwork and leadership. We have players with a different range of skill levels. The kids really need to work together. It’s really about everyone improving.”

Westwood has started playing some exhibition games, including one on Monday against a team composed of mainly visiting players from France as well as some Quebec students from schools based in Granby and Drummondville.

Westwood didn’t have enough participating students in one age bracket to place a hockey team to compete in a Greater Montreal Athletic Association (GMAA) league, Coiteux said.

Westwood’s hockey program has been organized by its administrative staff and teachers as well as parent volunteers, with certified coaches and skating and skill development coaches coming on board.

Coiteux hopes the hockey program will grow in the coming years, though offering a formally recognized Sports-Études program isn’t on the agenda.

We have players with a different range of skill levels. The kids really need to work together. It’s really about everyone improving.

ALLEN McINNIS Westwood Wildcats goalie Nathan Evans reaches out to make a save against the Paris 2003 at the Complexe Sportif Saint-Lazare on Monday. From left, Paris 2003’s Eliot Bourgoin, Wildcats’ Joshua Therrien and Paris 2003’s Paul Schmitt look on.