In a hockey town like Lloydminster, it’s a telling affirmation that hockey players are among the greatest supporters of the Pursuit School of Sport.
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“I just like how you can have a really good connection with the teachers, because they’ve either played sports at a good level, or they have kids playing at that level,” said Hailey Peters, a Grade 9 student at Pursuit.
“And they understand what you’re going through, with the pressure of your hockey team and just the pressure at home. So, you’re able to talk to them about it and they’ll help you a lot more, because they understand what you’re going through.”
Peters played defence with the U14 Junior Rustlers while attending Pursuit in the inaugural year for the specialized sports school in Lloydminster.
“I used to live outside of town, and I came to Lloyd for the girls’ hockey program,” she said. “I started playing with the U14 Rustlers, and we have a lot of showcase weekends, so we’re not really here on Fridays.
“(Previously), just going to a school where you needed to be at school on Fridays, it’s a lot of work. You’d come back on Monday morning and it’s, like, ‘Oh, you missed all this.’
“At the Pursuit, you don’t have that (scheduling conflict) and they have the time allotted so you can catch up during the school day.”
Pursuit’s weekly schedule doesn’t include Friday classes, so the student-athletes are able to travel to their respective competitions without missing school time.
Speaking with her hockey friends, Peters has given Pursuit an endorsement. She expects some of them might join her next year.
“It was just me this year, but next year we know that probably half of my team is going to be here.”
Along with a range of other sporting disciplines, Pursuit hosted hockey players from multiple Lloydminster-based teams, most notably the Thunder academy club that made its debut in the Premier Hockey League.
ENROLMENT ON THE RISE
“We are going to grow our population next year,” said Pursuit principal Doug Smith. “We’ve already beat where we were at this year, which was 68 students.
“So, we’ll hit that 80 mark. A few other sports (are being added). We have cheer coming in next year, and soccer. Lloydminster is a sports town. A ton of great athletes here and great programs. We were lucky enough to provide the education aspect to these kids.”
The hockey landscape is changing in the Border City, with the Lloydminster Athletics ending their academy program, while the Thunder are expanding to multiple teams and a new league, the North American Prep Hockey League.
“Some of these kids who were part of that (Athletics) program, they’re looking for a place to play,” Smith said. “A lot of them are hoping that they can play in and around Lloyd, just so they can attend Pursuit again.
“It’s been an amazing year.”
Ryder Greba, a 16-year-old goaltender from Cold Lake, is one of the hockey players most appreciative of Pursuit’s impact in developing his potential career.
Greba moved to Lloydminster last fall to play with the 17U Athletics, and he seamlessly stepped into Grade 10 at Pursuit.
“It was kind of last minute,” he said. “I got called to go play Athletics here in Lloyd. Coming out for a skate, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I took my first look at this school when I knew I was going to play Athletics. I was, like, ‘Yeah, it sounds amazing.’
“It sounded like a great group of kids who were going here. With athletes, it’s all like-minded people. A bunch of different types of students, so you really get to explore what other people are doing. Lots of diversity, which is great. When I heard about that, I was really interested, so I took my chances here, and it ended up working out great.”
Greba could fill a yearbook with memories from school at Pursuit and hockey with the Athletics.
“The things that stand out to me about Pursuit are definitely the teachers, with how understanding they are with schoolwork,” he said. “Because, some athletes are gone some days, and they can’t do schoolwork. The teachers give you extensions — there’s lots of extra time (to keep pace) — and they’re really willing to focus on you and help you, which I do really love and respect about this school.
“The hockey season was great here,” Greba said. “I enjoyed it. I made lots of new friends. I made lots of friends at this school, too. I feel like anyone could come to this school and make a bunch of friends. I feel like everyone here is great people.”
With the Lloyd Athletics closing shop this year, Greba is looking for a new place to play hockey next season. If that team is based in Lloydminster or area, he plans to continue his studies at Pursuit.
Greba’s prospective hockey options for the coming year include junior B back home, and AA or AAA or junior B in the Lloydminster area.
“And then, in the way (off) future, I do want to end up playing in a (junior) league like the BCHL or the WHL,” he said. “That’s my dream.”
Wherever he lands, Greba will continue to speak highly of Pursuit and its athlete-friendly approach to education.
“I would like to have some of my buddies from Cold Lake come here, because no one (else) from where I’m from has experienced this school yet,” he said. “I go home, and I tell my friends on the weekends, ‘Hey, I’ve got no school on Fridays, I get lots of one-on-one tutoring time, the teachers are really invested in you all the time. They’re trying to better you, not just in school, but as people.’ My buddies hear that, and say, ‘No way, blah, blah, blah, I want to come play there.’
“I mean, there are so many great teachers here and I’ve made so many great friends here.”
Three members of the 18U Thunder hockey club — Ryder Gamey, Ellis Smith and Charlie Winterhalt — are the first graduates in Pursuit school history.
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