SACKVILLE, N.B. — Kristen Cooze is small in stature, but big on making things happen with a hockey stick in hand.
The Kippens female hockey star just wrapped up a fine season with the Mount Allison Mounties female varsity hockey team in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) where she was named to the all-rookie team for the 2010-2011 season.
While she has focused her energy on carving a niche for herself in the AUS, Cooze has also been known to dangle on the ball hockey ciircuit for a number of years and her skillset hasn’t gone unnoticed.
The 18-year-old forward just received word that she’s cracked the roster for the 2011 Team Canada women’s ball hockey team representing the country at the World Women’s Ball Hockey Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia in June. Team Canada will be looking to capture a third-straight gold medal at the world championship.
Cooze, a five-foot-two, 135-pound feisty forward, is the first Newfoundlander to be named to a Team Canada female ball hockey team.
“I just didn’t expect it. I was kind of shock, but excited at the same time,” Cooze said from her dormitory at Mount A earlier this week of her being named to the team. “I knew that I wanted to, but I never thought it would actually happen.”
The shy teenager was a member of the Western team that won gold at the 2010 Eastern Canadian Ball Hockey Championships. She also joined the Toronto Crush for the 2010 national ball hockey championship because the team was short players and the end result was a silver-medal performance for Cooze and her new teammates.
It was Cooze’s stellar performance at these two events that caught the eye of Team Canada head coach Christine Pellerin of Toronto. Cooze is considered an alternate on the 23-player roster, which means she will see limited action, but coach Pellerin is confident the hard-working forward can step up and fill any role with the team if the need arises.
While the head coach feels Cooze will see some floor time in the quest for a three-peat, it’s no secret that the budding star is being groomed for the future — specifically the 2013 World Ball Hockey Championship being held on home soil in St. John’s.
“So for us it’s a long-term goal, but I know that if anything happens to any of our players I know I can put Kristen in that role or any position and not give it a second thought,” she said.
Discovering Cooze at the Easterns was a pleasant surprise for Pellerin. The coach was particularly impressed with the maturity and composure of her athlete while logging a ton of minutes for her team. She knows that Cooze has amazing stamina, and that’s something that the coaching staff is definitely looking for in those who wear the Team Canada jersey.
“As every game went on she got stronger and faster,” she said. “The things she done with the ball impressed me a lot, especially at 18 years of age and to have that composure. So that’s what really caught my attention.”
Cooze wants to be the first Newfoundlander to win a gold medal in women’s ball hockey as a member of Team Canada. She is eager to work hard and make a contribution to make it all happen this summer in Slovakia.
“I want to win a gold medal, just like any other tournament really. To do the best I can when I get a chance,” Cooze said.
