Red River Rage Ringette is celebrating a strong year and saying goodbye to a beloved longtime coach.
Based out of Ste. Agathe, the program has rostered players from throughout southeastern Manitoba, including Niverville, Ste. Agathe, St. Adolphe, and Île-des-Chênes.
The program offered seven teams this year, which translates into 102 players from 80 families as well as 38 coaches and managers, 16 board members, and countless volunteers.
Eric Austman, the club’s president, says that while the board always focuses on making the sport enjoyable for all, the group has enjoyed tremendous success this season.
“All six of our competitive teams from U10 to U19 earned medals this year, and overall, across league play, provincials, and other tournaments, our club earned nine gold, six silver, and three bronze medals,” says Austman.
The provincial tournament took place from March 14–19 and half of Rage’s competing teams finished in the top three. The U19B team won gold, the U16B team took home silver, and U14B captured bronze.
This is the second year that the U19 team won a provincial gold medal, making for a particularly remarkable ending to the girls’ ringette experiences as many age out of the program.
“The bittersweet part of [the last playoff game] is that out of the 15 rostered players, seven are aging out,” says team manager Julie-Ann Lodge. “All of them scored! That is totally awesome for these girls. We couldn’t have written a more perfect ending really.”
Consistent Program
While many rural ringette programs have lost support in terms of overall participation, and some have even closed, the Rage program keeps going strong. Austman says that social interaction and family support play a large part in players returning year to year.
“Our players have a strong social connection to each other, and that peer group helps a lot,” says Austman. “About 25 percent of our families have multiple girls registered, and that older-sibling introduction to the sport probably helps. Most often, we find that once the girls play ringette with us, they tend to continue for many years.”
Austman admits that the rural club might not have quite as many local extracurricular activities as some of the larger hubs, but he hints that this is changing as volunteer support continues to strengthen.
“We have a tremendous group of parents and volunteers that support the club with countless hours of dedication to make it possible,” says Austman.
He adds that while the sport of ringette is the glue, the real focus is helping the girls to learn and grow in teamwork, respect, accountability, physical activity, and appreciation of sport.
As for Lodge, she has two roles. Yes, she’s the team manager, but she’s also the parent of one of the players.
“My husband and I have been part of two ringette clubs with our daughter,” Lodge says. “And by far, Rage has been the most fun. Very little drama, with great families who support their girls and staff. But most of all, it’s the lifelong friendships that are made that truly amplify this great sport.”
She is aware that this program is one of very few clubs that has managed to maintain continual growth.
“We have seen many, many clubs dissolve for lack of players, but for some reason Rage has been able to maintain its growth,” she says. “When players from other clubs join us due to their catchment club not having enough numbers to host a team, those girls very rarely want to leave Rage.”
The players, staff, and volunteers all work hard to run the club smoothly. Lodge says that as team manager she organizes events, coordinates travel and accommodations, and has gameday responsibilities, like completing game sheets and reporting results to supporting players and families.
It’s a lot of work.
“But when you do it for such an awesome group of coaches, players, and parents, it makes it so worthwhile,” says Lodge. “Each team needs one coach, one assistant coach, a third bench staff, as well as a team manager. So it takes a village to run a program like this and everyone works hard for this sport, this community.”
Beloved Coach
The organizers are thankful for the service of a particularly beloved coach, Mel Hall, who is retiring this year after a 15-year coaching career.
Hall started coaching in 2008 when she was asked to help coach her daughter’s team because one of the coaches was expecting a baby and was unable to be on the ice. She had experience from playing ringette as a youth at both a community club and competitive level, but coaching was an entirely new thing.
“Seeing the players develop and sharing in the team excitement when they score their first goal or make a good play brought me so much happiness,” says Hall. “Each season would bring returning and new players and offer the opportunity to set new goals and to share new accomplishments. I have been so fortunate to have coached with some amazing people over the last 15 years who have taught me so much and brought so much to the team and made it fun for everyone.”
Despite some the challenge of training new players, Hall feels fortunate to finish her time at Rage Ringette on such a highlight of a year.
“Our challenge at the beginning of this year was that we had a lot of players who had never played together on the same team before,” Hall says. “We had really good attendance at practice this year and it showed as they started to gel together as a team. Even more than that, I would say that the players themselves really encouraged each other on and off the ice, and this brought the team together.”
Her team, the U19B team, ended the season finishing second in the Winnipeg Ringette League playoffs, which qualified them for provincials. She felt they were an underdog in their successful quest to bring home the gold.
“There are so many documented benefits for girls who are involved in sports, and offering one like ringette provides them with another option to play a sport,” says Hall, who would encourage anyone interested in the sport to connect with Rage. “It is a long winter in Manitoba and a winter sport like ringette can really break up the season. The best part about ringette is the speed of the game and the focus on teamplay. There’s lots of opportunities to play at all age and skill levels to suit what you want to do. If you are thinking about volunteering I can tell you that from my experience, I have gotten back as much as I’ve given volunteering as a coach and it is well worth the time!”
Although the season is wrapped up, Rage is planning to host a Come Try Ringette event in September. Find out more at www.redriverrageringette.ca or follow them on social media.
