/Red Hawks soaring to start season
Team captain Sophie Longo goes head to head with a St. Peter Catholic Secondary School player during the first field hockey game of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. /VIVIAN COLLINGS Staff

Red Hawks soaring to start season

By Vivian Collings
The Haliburton Highlands Secondary School varsity girls’ field hockey team finished their first two games of the season showing the pride of the red.
The team played St. Peter Catholic Secondary School and Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School on Tuesday, Sept. 27 beating Holy Cross 1-nil and St. Peter 2-nil.
“We are a young team, but they are all very driven and want to excel at getting better,” said HHSS field hockey coach Steve Smith.
Smith said the team has two senior players who were instrumental in guiding the team consisiting of a majority of new players.
Grade 12 player Ava Allaire is team captain, sharing the leadership role with Sophie Longo and Melanie Walter.
“I feel the team did well at executing plays based on drills we had learned in practice,” Allaire said. “For some, it was their first time playing a game, and I feel everyone did well and worked together.”
The varsity team is made up of HHSS students from Grades 9 to 12.

Lilly Manning runs with her opponent from St. Peter Catholic Secondary School during the first field hockey game of the season held at HHSS. /VIVIAN COLLINGS Staff

It is Allaire’s third year playing the game. She lost her fourth year of eligability due to the postponement of team sports during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“For our next game, we want to try to work on taking more shots and picking up rebounds,” she said.
The team is looking forward to the rest of the season to learn more and improve their skills.
“The girls played well for their first game of the year,” Smith said.