Today's Herald
Flames burn Avalanche, 1-0
The Flames finally had their way away. After suffering from an acute case of road...
Herald Galleries
Holmes keeps dreams alive
Cassie Campbell, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, December 09, 2007There are so many people who have done a lot for women's hockey, but many never get the credit they deserve.
These great women's hockey supporters may not need the credit, but from time to time it is nice to get a pat on the back.
One of these is Samantha Holmes, who has given back to the women's game in so many ways She is from Mississauga, Ont., but moved to Calgary in June 2002 to play for the Calgary Oval X-Treme with the hopes of one day making the national women's team.
She did play a handful of games for Team Canada and competed in two international tournaments for her country, but a full-time position on the team never came for the 30-year-old forward.
After realizing that her dream to play on the national team was over, and unable to continue to play with the Oval X-Treme because she wasn't in the national team player pool any longer, Holmes wanted to continue to give back to the game, and wanted a place to play hockey, so she took matters into her own hands -- she established her own team.
The Strathmore Rockies were formed last year and have been playing in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) this season as a fully sanctioned team. Holmes's idea was to give herself an elite place to play, but she also found out there were many more former players who still had a desire to play elite hockey in Calgary.
Holmes not only plays for the Rockies, but also manages all the day-to-day operational tasks necessary for a team to compete in the WWHL.
She has created guidelines for player scouting and development, canvassed and secured sponsorship and marketing campaigns to operate the team. She is also captain of the Rockies, and has led the team despite coming back from summer foot surgery.
Samantha, or Sam as her friends call her, has always had a strong determination for women's hockey.
In 1988, when Holmes was eight years old, she travelled to Calgary with her family to watch what she thought was going to be six games of women's hockey during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.
Upon her arrival at the Games in Calgary, she realized and learned for the first time that women's hockey was not an Olympic sport.
Holmes , a determined 10-year-old hockey player, wrote a letter to then prime minister Brian Mulroney and her hometown mayor Hazel McCallion, asking that they help get women's hockey into the Olympics.
Holmes was very active advocating her cause by writing letters and campaigning on local news stations. She did all of this while still playing hockey and so many other sports. Her efforts were rewarded and her dream came true when women's hockey entered the Olympic Winter Games for the first time, in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.
Holmes has also been a coach of local women's hockey teams here in Calgary, the most recent being the 'AAA' bantam Selects spring team this past May. She recruited me as an assistant coach, but it was Holmes who led the way with practices and game plans.
Holmes continues to run local skills clinics for young women's players and is paid a minimal amount, if anything, for organizing such events, but enjoys giving back to the game.
