Elizabeth Davies of Williams Lake has become the first lacrosse player from the north to ever make Team BC and will represent the province at the 2014 Female Junior National Championships in Whitby, Ontario Aug. 6-9.
Davies was selected to the team after travelling to Coquitlam in March to attend tryouts.
“We leave Friday for Vancouver, then I’ll practice with the team Saturday and Sunday and then we fly out as a team on Monday,” said Davies.
Davies, 15, has played lacrosse with the Williams Lake Bighorns since 2009 and has always played on boys’ teams.
“I think playing with boys all my life has definitely helped me compete at a higher level,” said Davies.
The Junior Female division usually features players ages 17-21 but Team BC is made up of girls ages 15-19. Being one of the youngest players in the tournament doesn’t phase Davies, she’s just thrilled to be going after suffering a potentially career-ending knee injury.
Last year Davies secured a spot on the Northern B.C. zone female team which travelled to the Lower Mainland for tournaments. A requirement to stay with the team was that she play on a local boys team.
“It was both exciting and hard to continue with a contact sport when the boys in my age group are so much bigger in midget,” said Davies.
In her second midget game last May, Davies was hit awkwardly and suffered a double bone marrow contusion that resulted in a full leg brace and crutches for 11 weeks. Physiotherapy was painful and difficult due to the severe pain.
By September she was walking on her own and able to start working out with her trainer at Total Ice.
Her confidence grew as she became stronger and she began to walk straighter. This January, eight months to the day after her injury, she put on a pair of skates and very cautiously attempted the skating treadmill.
“The reality that I could once again play hockey and lacrosse was an incredible feeling,” said Davies.
Her competitive flame inside was once again ignited and pushed her to train hard in preparation for the Team BC camp in March. She pushed hard at the gym and started on-ice early morning sessions before school.
“The coaches and players at the camp were welcoming and the experience was great,” said Davies. “I owe a lot to all of the trainers at Total Ice who encouraged me back into competitive sports.”
Davies has been making weekend trips to the Lower Mainland for the past five weeks in order to practice with the team as well as training on her own while in town.
“I have my own net so I usually do an hour of stick and ball work every day when I’m home and then every weekend for the last month or so I’ve been heading down to practice with the team,” said Davies.
Davies’ knee still bothers her on occasion but not enough to hold her back from playing the sports she loves.
“After a game or practice it sometimes bugs me but I’m pretty close to being fully recovered,” explained Davies.
Aside from staying in shape, Davies has been busy fundraising for the nationals through working at her job at Staples and support from many local sponsors.
Davies, who is entering Grade 11 at Williams Lake Secondary this fall, hopes to one day earn a lacrosse scholarship to a major university. She would like to thank Kayla and Tyrel Lucas at Total Ice, Pro Physio, and the Weil and Rankin families for driving her back and forth from school to training after school.