The walls of the gym at Ponoka Composite High School are white with green and black stripes with large bold letters that spell out ‘Pride and Tradition’ something that the current Broncs teams take very seriously. Pride and tradition is the gym motto and one teacher at the school is helping to pass the importance of these values to her current students.
Coach and teacher Paula Chapman has been at PCHS for 12 years and planned an alumni basketball and volleyball game for Feb. 17.
“I would like to connect some of the girls who have been here and who I have coached,” said Chapman. “I would like to see our present girls see what a strong athletic tradition we have had in the past. I would love to see as many generations represented as possible.”
The day will start with a five game volleyball match at 11 a.m. and a basketball game at 1 p.m.
At PCHS both the women’s basketball and volleyball teams have such an overlay that putting on a day like this was a perfect fit.
“I’m a basketball coach but volleyball is a huge part of our school,” said Chapman. “I hope we have fun. I want the girls now to see sport is lifelong. I want them to see the connection that they make with their teammates is lifelong.”
Chapman notes that the women’s teams at PCHS were called the Aces from 1966 to 2000 and this would be the first time to have returning Aces.
She encourages alumni to bring family and friends to cheer them on and thinks the current senior teams are ready.
“The girls here at the school are excited to meet some of the players that they see posted on our gym walls as having won banners and provincial titles.”
The current Broncs are on their way to possibly being up on those walls for others to look up to in the future. The team this year is doing very well and is in the hunt for the playoffs. The team had one win and one loss this past week facing Hunting Hills and Lindsay Thurber. On Feb. 5 they traveled to Face Hunting Hills and easily defeated them 81-48. In a very close game that came down to the final minutes the Broncs lost a heartbreaker to Lindsay Thurber Feb. 6, 55-49. The Broncs are now 10-9 (including tournaments) as they head towards the playoffs in early March. On Feb. 12 they hosted Sylvan Lake (score was unavailable at press time) and their last game is Feb. 19 in Stettler. They are tied for fourth in their league with Stettler.
Men’s Broncs
The senior men’s Broncs team is also doing very well this season and is currently ranked third in the province in the 3A division. The men also went 1-1 this week losing to an undefeated Hunting Hills team 93-60 and defeating Lindsay Thurber 76-72.
Broncs coach Blaine Haines was very impressed with the team’s effort against Lindsay Thurber.
“I was proud of how we bounced back after the nasty defeat the night before. [It was a] great character check,” said Haines.
In the Lindsay Thurber game Mike Hatala led all scorers followed by Eric Dortman for the Broncs. The team is now 6-1 in league play with an overall record of 9-7 (including league and tournament games). The men’s team hosted Sylvan Lake (score was unavailable at press time) and their next game is also in Stettler.