Local ball hockey players receive community support ahead of nationals opportunity

By James Tubb on July 21, 2023.

James Tubb

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com

Two Medicine Hat ball hockey players will get to fulfill the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to help from their community.
Hatters Ethan Hall and Carter Allan were selected to represent Alberta at the ball hockey nationals held next week in Newfoundland. Having been informed just this week, the duo needed help funding their trip and hotel rooms and both families quickly put together fundraisers and set up a bottle drive.
That’s when the United Commercial Travellers president Andy Jean stepped in, making a $4,000 donation that Jean says came with no hesitation.
“It’s part of our mandate to support youth clubs in Medicine Hat and when we found out that the Gas City Ball Hockey league was in need of some donations for their youth heading to Newfoundland and these two young guys were picked to compete for Alberta at an elite level,” Jean said. “We decided we’d be honoured to give them a donation for their hard work.”
The support from the community has caught both boys off guard and they are humbled by all who have helped.
“At first, I didn’t really know if it was going to be a possibility,” Allan said. “The community stepped up and really helped, it’s been awesome.”
“I didn’t really think we would be able to go because it’s a lot of money,” Hall said. “Thanks to everyone for their donations, the UCT and just everyone who helped out.”
The duo will be joining the Edmonton Stars ball hockey team, which won Westerns and was selected to represent Alberta against the nine other teams competing. The pair will drive to Calgary on Sunday and fly out on Monday ahead of the tournament, beginning on July 26.
Jean used to play ice hockey and road hockey himself and is looking forward to watching the duo play at nationals, he already has the schedule. He also wants to acknowledge those in the community who help make youth sports possible.
“There’s a lot of coaches who have dedicated a lot of their time, whether it’s minor hockey or minor ball or whatever it might be, they donate a lot of their time to making these kids successful,” Jean said.
They both say they like ball hockey because it’s an extension of ice hockey and allows them to stay fit and active during the summer months.
“I just don’t really want to get away from hockey in the summer,” Hall said. “It’s good conditioning for the winter and I find ball hockey helps with ice hockey, and it’s just really fun.”
It will be the first time both have been to Newfoundland. Getting to share the experience with one another makes it that much better, Allan says.
“I’ve played with him all year, we’ve been pretty good here together, it’s really awesome,” Allan said.
Anyone interested in further supporting the duo can support their bottle drive or donate cash directly. Redi Bottle Depot has a registered account under Gas City Ball Hockey where people can donate their bottle money. Both boys’ mothers, Kim Hall and Megan Allan, can also be contacted on Facebook.

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