Six students in this semester’s ENGL 1100, Introduction to University Writing also happen to be team members from the Kamloops Blazers. Hockey practice, games and travel fill their schedules; however, they do manage to find time for one university course per semester.
“It’s important to continue taking courses after high school. Even if we only have time for one class, it’s good to stay in the academic mindset and continue to use the skills needed in school, so that we stay sharp when we have the opportunity to attend university full-time,” said Garret Pilon, who’s a second-year forward and was drafted last year by the Washington Capitals.
As players for the Blazers, they are part of the Western Hockey League (WHL), a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada.
“The players are usually incredibly strong students and also, without exception, extremely good fun in the classroom,” said Jan Duerden, an arts faculty member who has taught Blazers players in the English 1100 class for the past nine years. “Because of their background in competitive sports, they respond well to challenges, which is something that post-secondary and sports have in common: both are environments where we develop the ability to deal with adversity and constantly work to improve our skills, and hopefully enjoy success.”
“All of the staff and faculty at TRU are super supportive. It’s been great to take a course at the university here and I’m grateful that there are classes at TRU that work with our schedule,” said Joe Gatenby, a defenseman who won a WHL championship with the Kelowna Rockets in 2014-2015.
ENGL 1100 gives the Blazers a chance to develop their abilities to compose in different genres of scholarly writing, incorporating research and documentation.
“For every year we play WHL hockey, we are credited a year of tuition at university for when we have time to study and if we need to work on another career other than hockey. In almost all cases, this English course will be required later, so we are happy to take it now,” explained Dallas Valentine, a defenseman for the Blazers.
“Kamloops is an incredibly friendly city, it’s a bonus that we get to attend the university here and it’s great to be part of the Blazers history and tradition at TRU,” said Gatenby.
