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Sun Devils a model of consistency

Senior girls field hockey team focuses on tournament play to prepare for provincials
field hockey
South Delta rolled to an easy win over Panorama on Tuesday at Winskill Park, a common theme in regular season play.

They will dominate their league opponents again and are a good bet to bring home another Fraser Valley banner. It’s beyond that point where it gets a little tricky to predict the journey of the 2018 South Delta Sun Devils.

The senior girls field hockey program has been a model of consistency under longtime coach Neil McLennan with 17 Fraser Valley titles in his 22 years at the helm, including the 2017 campaign. South Delta finished eighth at last year’s provincials after a tough 2-1 quarter-final loss to Mt. Doug.

A somewhat seasoned line-up returns with eight Grade 12s that want at least a top five finish in their final provincial tournament. But don’t expect McLennan to be setting any lofty goals.

His approach is just like any other season.

“Winning championships is not what we are about,” he said. “It’s learning to play good hockey as a group and learning to play as a team. Whether that leads to success or not, only time will tell.”

That’s why the Sun Devils were more concerned about their positional play and ball distribution rather than running up the score in Tuesday’s home field win over Panorama Ridge. They know creating bad habits won’t get them far against elite competition.

South Delta got a taste of that at the recent Friendship Cup in Duncan with a steady diet of powerhouse teams from Vancouver Island. North Shore is the other juggernaut region that includes defending “AAA” champion Handsworth.

There will be a return trip for the annual Bridgman Cup in Victoria over the Thanksgiving Weekend then one final tune-up at the Golden Pumpkin/AK Pro Tournament in Surrey before defending the Valley championship.

The provincials will take place at Tamanawis Park in Surrey, Nov. 14-16.