Their strong legs and sharp thinking have taken the Gleneagle Talons to glorious heights with which the senior girls high school rugby team has grown so familiar.
Their coach says one more component was particularly vital to the squad's success in Thursday's Fraser Valley final: Huge heart.
The Talons' Amy Leem was a prime example of it, out-willing her Lord Tweedsmuir Panther opponents to score a pair of tries and help give Gleneagle a well-earned 17-5 triumph in Cloverdale and, remarkably, their 11th Valley crown in the last 15 years.
"We really wanted to get the ball into space and utilize our whole team as attackers, and I think the girls did that very well," Gleneagle head coach Stevi Schnoor told The Tri-City News. "There were multiple times when there were very long phases of play, two of which ended in a Gleneagle try. So, that in itself is a testament to [our players'] athleticism and heart."
Tied 5-5 at halftime, Shaelynn Zurrini put the Talons ahead for good by capping a long sequence of plays for a try. Gleneagle did well to maintain possession and work the clock the rest of the way, sealing the win when Leem notched her second try in the late going.
Schnoor attributes the will, commitment and determination of her players year after year for the team's long-standing success, and this campaign is no exception.
"It sounds very cliche but the reason Gleneagle is doing so well is because of all the hard work, effort and heart [the players] put into practices and games," she said. "These girls are a very close group of friends and so they are always playing for much more than themselves and I think that gives them an edge."
The Talons now go for provincial glory when they compete in the B.C. high school championships May 24-26 at Klahanie Park in North Vancouver. They enter the event seeded No. 2 behind only North Van's Carson Graham Eagles, who edged the Talons by two points earlier this season to handle Gleneagle its only loss of the campaign to date.
"I truly believe anything can happen this year," Schnoor concluded.
