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This week's message is in compliment with Coach Noble's assembly last Monday with the focus on intention and commitment. It is not a new theme, but an important one for this time of the year; prep hockey teams are finishing their season, varsity hockey athletes are in the thick of play offs, the lacrosse program is prepping for Spring season, while balancing the demands of semester 2 academics.
There is a critical difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in something, you only do it when it is convenient for you. When you are committed to something, you will not accept any excuses, and you will not be turned away by any adversity or hardships in order to reach your goals.
Are you committed to your best ever results this week?
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Quote of the Week
"There's no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs."
- Zig Ziglar
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Life at the Hill and Upcoming Events.
Students are to meet in the gym at 8:40 for a Monday morning assembly. Students are to be prepared with their journals and a writing utensil.
Guidance Meetings
The Guidance Department is currently meeting with students to go through either their
Independent Pathways Plans or their
All About Me Plans. Students are always encouraged to book appointments at
[email protected]
to discuss plans, options, references, applications, etc.
Attendance
Being present and on-time are expectations at The Hill Academy. If a student-athlete is going to be away, the parent/guardian must call the school or email
[email protected]. Please note that the handbook clearly outlines our attendance policy, including steps that are taken when a student's attendance begins to affect their classroom experience. Please also note that
all
student athletes need a parent-guardian to call or email if they are leaving school premises early. An early dismissal is reflected in a student's attendance record and will be addressed if it is affecting the student's classroom experience.
Uniform
Please review the appropriate uniform for student-athletes of The Hill Academy. If a student is without proper uniform it is documented. Three or more infractions will result in a suspension. Control the controllables - come on time, prepared and dressed for the day.
OSSLT
Upcoming practice sessions for the Literacy Test will be scheduled as follows:
Tuesday February 25th- Practice Session 1 Make up Test, during practice period (8:40 am)
Thursday February 27th- Hockey Only Practice Session 1 during practice period (8:40 am)
Tuesday, March 10th- Lacrosse Only Practice Session 2 during practice period (8:40 am)
Tuesday, March 24th- Final Practice Session during practice period (8:40 am)
On the day of the practice test, students will be provided with helpful links/documents to help them be successful on the OSSLT. Here are some of those links, for parents that would like to do a little bit of reading regarding the OSSLT:
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Hill Lacrosse.
The excitement is building for the spring season; it is tangible.
One of our points of emphasis this year was to limit field lacrosse in our winter season.
We are seeing the benefits of this as the players come to practice with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.
We were fortunate to have a special guest at The Hill this week. Scott is a close friend of Coach Reid, as they were roommates at Loyola University and won a NCAA National Championship together.
I also had the opportunity to play with Scott for two seasons in professional lacrosse. He is one of the most competitive players on the field that I have been around! A word to describe Scott's game would be relentless.
I remember watching Scott play for the first time at Loyola, he jumped off the field at you. An LSM that was all over the field in an unconventional way, playing offensive, defense, creating havoc all over the field. Looking him up at the time and seeing he was from Georgia, made him even more unique. I find those that come from non-traditional lacrosse areas carry a bit of a chip on their shoulder. That is definitely the case with Scott.
Along with playing professional lacrosse, Scott has ventured into leadership training. In our team session Scott explored different leadership strategies.
Below are some of the many take-aways:
-Trust. Leadership is earning the trust and respect of those around you.
He used the example of a key leader on his national championship team. This player did not see any playing time until his SR season. He embraced a new role at the face off. Although his impact statistically was minimal, stats didn't tell the story of how influential his leadership was on the team was. He held himself and others to a high standard and because of this, his coaches and players had complete trust in him.
-Privilege can be a positive or negative thing. Privilege could help propel you to new heights in your potential. Privilege can also create complacency and a lack of mental toughness when adversity hits.
-Leadership is essentially handling various forms of adversity. This can be practiced in the day to day details of the day. Like wall ball or lifting weights, mental toughness can be trained.
In many ways Scott represents what we want to be as a program:
-Competitive underdog mentality
-Relentless
-Humble and grateful
Scott works with athletes on an individual basis. Would recommend anyone struggling with the mental side of the game to reach out to Scott. @scottratliff2
| Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
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Practice @ Trio Sportsplex
GLax, Varsity and JV- 8:00am
Prep- 9:20am
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Practice @ Trio Sportsplex
GLax, Varsity and JV- 8:00am
Prep- 9:20am
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Hill Hockey.
Varsity Hockey
Congratulations to our Hill varsity students who have advanced in their respective playoffs. It is an exciting time and we always look forward to seeing our students hard work pay off as they chase championships with their outside club teams. We have a number of students who have already qualified for the OHL Cup, which typically signifies the end of the minor midget season. For those who are still playing, use your time on the ice effectively to work on areas in your game that need attention. Our practices are designed to help with individual skills, so it becomes the perfect place to touch on spots that may need extra help. For our students whose seasons have come to an end, now is the time to push yourself in practice each day. What you do now will give you a head start on being prepared for next season and for better results. Make sure you are maximizing your time on the ice at the Hill so that you can enjoy free time away from the rink when you leave at the end of the school day.
18-45 Practice Players of the Week
Jr.
Varsity - Mason Laverty
Sr.
Varsity - Owen Tapper
Prep Hockey
U18 Prep Hockey - World Sports School Challenge
The U18s competed in the WSSC this past weekend at The Sports Village. This is an annual tournament that The Hill Academy has hosted for the past 3 years. Teams from Western Canada, Ontario, and the United States were represented for this championship. The format for the weekend was a 4 game round robin with the top 2 teams overall competing Sunday. With that said, it ended up becoming a very interesting finish to the weekend.
The first 3 games were won with relative ease as The Pride defeated St. Andrews B, International Hockey Academy, and Pacific Coast, by scores of 6-0, 5-0, and 4-0. This put the team in a 'win and you're in' scenario against Delta Hockey Academy. It turned out to be easier said than done. The U18s were outmatched by the speed and pace of Delta and unfortunately lost by the score of 4-1.
This put The Hill Academy, OHA, and Delta all in a 3 way tie for first; each with 3 wins and 1 loss. The disappointment of losing faded quick as The Hill advanced through the tie breaker with the help of their stingy defence from the games prior, allowing 0 goals against. This lined up a Sunday morning final against fierce rival OHA, who the team had played numerous times this year.
Before the game, words were echoed by the coaching staff about coming to play or showing up during big games. The Pride must have been tired of listening to that message being repeated again and again because they were ready on this day. The game was deadlocked 0-0 going into the 3rd with OHA getting a fortuitous bounce early in the period to take a 1-0 lead. It wasn't until the 10 minute mark of the period that Aydar Suniev scored for The Hill Academy. He would add another late and clinch the championship for the team.
Next up for The Hill Academy U18s is Union College Showcase February 21-22. For complete results of the WSSC, please see the link below.
| Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
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Prep- Practice @ 8:20am
Sr.
Varsity- Practice 8:30- 9:30 am
Jr.
Varsity
- Practice 9:40- 10:40am
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Prep- Practice @ 8:20am
Sr. Varsity- Practice 8:30am- 9:30am
Sr. Varsity- Goalie Session 8:30am- 9:30am
Jr.
Varsity
- Practice/ Goalie Session- 9:40am- 10:40am
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Prep- Practice
@ 8:20am
Sr.
Varsity
- Practice 8:30- 9:30am
Jr.
Varsity- Practice
9:40am
- 10:40am
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U18 Prep-
Practice @ 8:20am
U16 Prep Game vs Okanagan (1:45pm @ Iroquois Park Sports Centre)
Sr.
Varsity
- Study Hall 8:30am- 9:30am
Jr.
Varsity
- Intramurals 9:40am- 10:40am
Saturday:
U16 Prep Hockey Game vs Okanagan (8:15pm @ The Hill Academy)
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Hill Performance.
Our athletes showed great poise and resilience after another tough week. With the countdown to spring season fast approaching, there are only a handful of workouts left in order to get the necessary work that needs to be done. This last push requires a great deal of grit and we encourage our athletes to go where they haven't gone before; for some that's emptying the tank on every run, pushing a weight they have never used before or holding a position for those extra seconds or minutes.
This week for our morning journal session, Coach Noble challenged each athlete to do an intention journal for the week. By pin pointing a specific task or skill that they want to work on in each session, athletes are better able to focus their attention and make tangible improvements.
Students will be given their first assignment of the new semester early next week. Monthly article and reflection questions will also begin highlighting current trends in health, wellness and sport ethics. Please ensure your son/daughter checks Google Classroom regularly for posted academic work.
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