The Eastman South U13AA hockey team is having a banner year. In fact, the team hasn’t lost a single game this season.
Two teams from the Eastman Region participate in the Winnipeg U13AA league. Athletes in the region are sorted into one of two teams, Eastman South or Eastman North, based on a boundary line created by the Trans Canada Highway.
Jeremy Gingras, head coach of the Eastman South team, explains how the teams were chosen.
“Tryouts were held in St. Adolphe during September of 2022,” he says. “Once tryouts were finished, the coaches picked their teams from a ranking system done by Max Analytics. [These analytics] helped throughout the tryout process, so everyone got a fair tryout and a proper report card.”
Once Gingras had his team members chosen, he made a phone call to each of the nine forwards, six defencemen, and two goalies.
“I knew this season was going to be something special with the excitement [I heard] from the players during the calls,” he says.
The Eastman South team holds a remarkable 39–0 record this season as they enter the playoffs. That record consists of two exhibition game wins, nine wins over two tournaments, and a 28–0 record in regular season play.
Equally impressive is the young men’s goal tally—203 goals for and only 39 against.
This past weekend the athletes entered the quarterfinals and held onto their undefeated record. Gingras believes that a winning streak like this has never before been accomplished in the Winnipeg U13AA league.
“According to my team rankings, the Eastman U13AA South is ranked as one of the top teams in all of Western Canada,” Gingras says. “I can honestly say I have never been a part of a team like this one where the team gelled right from the first practice to the end of the regular season. The success of the team is all on the players. We as coaches can prepare the players for practices and games, but it’s the players that have to show up and put in the work.”
Throughout the season, the group has participated in some team-building events to further strengthen their bond. They’ve done some off-ice training with Sweaty Training & Conditioning in Steinbach and some mindset and meditation work with an organization called The Power of Stillness.
The boys also attended a Winnipeg Ice game, watched an Eastman U15AAA game, and took a few bus trips into Brandon.
They were honoured to participate in the months devoted to Hockey Fights Cancer and Buddy Check for Jesse. The team was also selected to be given orange jerseys to wear in a game to represent the Every Child Matters movement.
Gingras says, “Being a non-parent coach, watching the growth and maturity of these players on and off the ice is more important than their win-loss record… but having a 39–0 record is quite the accomplishment for this group.”
He also commends the parents, attributing part of the boys’ success to the sacrifices and commitments their parents have made along the way.
Finally, Gingras also credits his assistant coaches Travis Mason and Hayden Fast, team manager Pamela May, treasurer Jackie Verrier, and safety Jason Mateychuk.
The U13AA team motto, he says, is “Hard work beats skill when skill doesn’t work hard.” As the team head into the semifinals, it appears their motto is likely to see them through all the way to the championship.