Before they line up for the U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers’ spring ID camp this weekend, a couple of those hockey prospects are going to the net in another sport.
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Gavin Pratt, a Grade 10 student at Kitscoty High School, and Logan Flewell, a Grade 11 student at E.H. Walter School in Paradise Valley, have qualified for the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association badminton provincials Friday and Saturday (May 2 and 3) in Red Deer.
At the zone championships last week in Lac la Biche, Pratt captured gold in junior boys’ singles, while Flewell took home silver in intermediate boys’ singles.
“I was so excited,” said Pratt, 15. “It felt just awesome.”
Pratt defeated his Fort McMurray opponent in straight sets, 21-18 and 21-14.
“I definitely thought (gold) was within reach,” he said. “I was very excited to try and get it, and pretty excited to win. Things went mostly my way. But he definitely had some skill. Not an easy opponent.”
Pratt led the U17 AAA Lancers in scoring this past season with 19 goals and 35 points in 34 Alberta Elite Hockey League games. His coach with that team was his father, Scott, who also has been a training partner in badminton.
“I’ve kind of just been messin’ around with dad forever,” said Gavin, who has been playing school badminton since Grade 7. “Just everything you get to do with him, it’s been fun. He’ll come out to (badminton) practices sometimes, and we’ve come to the Servus (Sports Centre) a few times and he’ll try to beat me.”
Another Kitscoty kid, Xavier Crawford, battled in the intermediate division before losing to a familiar face in Flewell.
“I got second in zones and second in districts, but to different people,” said Flewell, who turns 17 on May 5. ”In zones, I was able to beat (Crawford), the guy that beat me in districts, which made it so that I was able to move on to provincials.
“You’ve got to work as hard as you possibly can to do it, and it was quite a battle, but I was able to come out on top and make it to the finals.”
In the gold-medal match, Flewell lost to a formidable Fort McMurray opponent in Christoffe Fabian.
“He was very talented,” Flewell said. “I went to provincials last year, too, and it was him in the finals. He beat me last year, too. I’ve seen him four times now.”
He was also most familiar with his earlier opponent, Crawford.
“He beat me pretty good in districts, but then I was able to rally back against him in zones,” Flewell said. “So, that felt pretty good, because I know him pretty well. It’s kind of like a rivalry.”
Flewell’s mother and sister made the trip to Lac la Biche to support him, as did his grandparents from Barrhead.
Pratt’s mother accompanied him on the long, winding road trip to zones.
The pair of Lancer hockey players have a full weekend ahead, regardless of how long they remain in contention at the provincial badminton championships. Both plan to return home in time for Sunday action at the U18 hockey camp, and possibly even for Saturday evening play.
Flewell, a hard-nosed centre, is a returning player with the U18 AAA Lancers. He recorded 10 points in 38 games, with 44 penalty minutes.
“It was a fun season,” he said. “It wasn’t exactly a successful season for the team, but I had a lot of fun and developed quite a bit as a hockey player and look forward to next season. Hopefully, we can get a couple of more wins.”
Pratt hopes to step up to the U18 AAA Lancers, whose new coaching staff is led by former Lakeland College Rustlers women’s basketball coach Chris King.
“I enjoy it,” Pratt said of his hockey pursuits. “It’s just so much fun, with the group of guys. We had a great (U17 AAA) team this year.”
He believes some of his hockey skills are transferrable to badminton.
“Definitely the foot speed and just the overall strength,” Pratt said. “And the hand-eye co-ordination. That really helps in badminton.”
Flewell, who plays multiple sports, also recognizes those nuances common to hockey and badminton.
“Speed or athleticism, you’ve got to have some quick feet for both sports,” he said. “It’s a little bit different. You don’t get to glide anywhere on a badminton court, so you’ve got to keep running at all times. You’ve got to be shifty. You’ve got to be smart, you’ve got to move.”
Flewell moved into badminton season soon after his E.H. Walter School team recently reached basketball provincials.
“We’ve gone the last four years and hopefully we can go again next year,” he said. “We didn’t do as great as we wanted to. But we still went out and tried our best. For a small-town school — it’s like 200 kids K to 12, if that even — we’ve done pretty well.”
Just up the road from Paradise Valley is Kitscoty, where Pratt senses similar hometown pride and the support of the community.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Just to represent the school and the community, too, and to get to show off what Kitscoty can do, it’s special.”
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