This will not come as a news flash for those who know her, but for those who don’t, Halifax’s Ashley Maynard is a pretty good athlete.
Whether she’s stopping shots as a netminder for the provincial under-19 ringette team or scoring goals for Nova Scotia’s midget female box lacrosse squad, Maynard almost invaribly gets the job done.
Take the recent Canadian female midget box lacrosse championships at BMO Centre in Bedford as a prime example. Needing a victory to advance to the bronze medal contest, all Maynard did was score three times and draw assists on the other two markers in helping Nova Scotia topple Team Iroquois (Ontario and Upstate New York) 5-3.
“She thrives under pressure and the bigger the game the better she performs,” said Julie Finck, coach of Nova Scotia’s female midget squad. “She’s very committed to whatever she’s doing and a real phenomenal athlete.”
For her part, Maynard is diplomatic when it comes to picking her favourite sport.
“I guess I would have to say it’s a tie between ringette and lacrosse,” said Maynard, who is trying out for a spot on the 2015 Canada Winter Games unit.
“Obviously, I love ringette but I love the physical aspect of lacrosse,” said Maynard. “I like to hit people and the running helps to keep you in shape.”
Finck concurred with that assessment.
“She seems to enjoy the contact in lacrosse and she doesn’t shy away from hitting or getting hit,” said Finck. “She’s just a real competitor and she’d be successful in whatever sport she chooses.”
Just 16 years old, Maynard will be entering Grade 11 at J.L. Ilsley High School in the fall.
“I’ve been playing lacrosse since I was eight or nine,” said Maynard, who has played in four national lacrosse and two Canadian ringette championships. “I’ve been playing with the girls for the last four years but when I first started I played with the guys.
“The girls push-check until you play at nationals. But with the guys it was full contact and I always liked that.”
“What Ashley brings to the game is a really good sense of the floor and she is able to anticipate well,” continued Finck. “She’s a good reader of other people and seems to know when they are going to be open. Plus, she’s not easily satisfied. She’s always looking to improve and take her game to the next level.”
For Maynard, that improvement was evident at the recent nationals, especially from a team point of view.
“We have to get better with our stick skills, moving around and faking,” said Maynard. “But I think we’re slowly closing the gap and getting closer to beating some of the big teams. I definitely think we’ll do better next time.
“This year we only had 12 runners and the other teams had 20. That makes a big difference. They had four lines and we only had two. You’d come off the floor dead and have to go right back on. But next time we’ll have more players. ”
“It’s hard to compare our kids with those from B.C. or Ontario because they just don’t get the opportunity to play at that level week in and week out,” noted Finck. “And I’m not sure what Ashley plans to do in the future, but there’s no question she could play with the stronger players if given the opportunity.”
Source: 'The Chronicle Herald' - Steve Bezanson (CH Sports Reporter)
Photo Credit: Ryan Taplin
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