She left it all on the ice in Salmon Arm. It paid off, and she got the call.
Now, Cassidy Mellott is skating for a spot on British Columbia's 2015 U18 roster, so she'll have to leave it all out there again. And maybe pot a couple more goals while she's at it.
The local hockey talent, who played for 100 Mile House's midget rep team this season, was one of 40 girls recently invited to a provincial camp in Lake Cowichan on May 16-19. This follows an appearance in the 2014 Female U18 BC Cup with the province's top 80 players in Salmon Arm from April 23-27.
Mellott played on Team Thunder, the runner-ups. She snipped two goals in four games.
“It was exhausting,” she says. “It was a lot of hockey. It was so much fun.”
The BC Cup featured four teams. The first two days of the event consisted of practices, team building and fitness testing. Players were then evaluated on their performance during games.
Following the BC Cup, Mellott received a letter from Team BC coach Rebecca Russell inviting her to the upcoming tryouts. Mellott is doing fitness training with local boxing coach Kelly Ricketts until then, and she's looking for ice time too.
Should she make the squad, Mellott will be part of Team BC, which will participate at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George next February.
“It feels really good,” the 16-year-old says. “It feels really good to be recognized for all the work and to finally get there.”
Getting a callback to tryout for Team BC was a goal of hers, she explains, and it was accomplished.
“Now I'm on to the next.”