Young Valley athletes stand up to be counted

I've written a number of stories lately about outstanding young Valley athletes - no less than three of whom have been given the opportunity to move outside the province and, in one case, outside the country for elite training.

Alex Tufts of Kentville spent the past year at the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball in Alberta. Upon graduation in May, he received a scholarship from Iowa Western Community College, where he will spend the next two years before moving on to university studies.

Abbey Duinker of Cambridge leaves in August for Ontario to attend the National Elite Development Academy, a national training program that brings together elite basketball players ages 15 to 18 from across the country.

Last but certainly not least, Zach Shaffelburg of Port Williams will leave in August for Amherst, Ohio, where he will spend the 2006/ 2007 school year at the Brad Freisel Premier Soccer Academy.

Tufts, Duinker and Shaffelburg are only three of many talented young athletes whose families call Kings County home.

Tufts, still only 17, was one of just 14 student/ athletes in Vauxhall's inaugural graduating class, the only one from Nova Scotia and one of two from Atlantic Canada. All 14 have received scholarships to continue their education both academically and athletically. Before leaving for Vauxhall, he played on the Nova Scotia Youth Selects provincial team, and was invited to a high-level Mizuno skills camp at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Duinker, 16, a member of the Nova Scotia provincial elite basketball program; already has a pair of national bronze medals to her credit - one from the 2005 Canada Games - as well as being part of an NSSAF provincial D-1 girls' championship team. She will spend her final two years of high school as part of the NEDA program while attending school in Hamilton. It's a unique opportunity that will no doubt lead to national junior and maybe even senior team programs.

Shaffelburg, 15, involved with the elite provincial soccer program since age 12, will have a similar experience in Ohio, taking part in daily practice sessions and regular competitions around attending public school. Shaffelburg's selection is arguably the most special: he is not only the only Nova Scotian, but the only Canadian part of the Premier Soccer Academy's inaugural year.

All three of these youngsters, and their families, have made great sacrifices to reach the level they have, in terms of extra practice and training - often outside the local area; and at their own expense: in time and money.

It's great to see local athletes get the chance to show their stuff on the national, or even international, stage. It's well deserved and proof hard work can pay off.

I would be remiss in talking about outstanding young Kings County athletes if I didn't mention the unbelievable last couple of weeks turned in by junior golfers from Ken-Wo and, in particular, Laura Harris, who, for the second time in her relatively short career, is the Nova Scotia women's amateur and junior girls' golf champion in the same year. Harris won the amateur title on her home course by three strokes over Irene Jung, then won her fourth junior title at Osprey Ridge by a 10-stroke margin over Jung.

Of the 17 girls that teed off in the junior tournament, six were from Ken-Wo. Jane Snyder, Lindsay Harris and Katherine Dugas all joined Harris in the top-10, as did third-place finisher Courtney Balcome of Paragon, and Katrina Winslade placed 11th.

Twins Sam and James Mills-Holland were second and third respectively at the junior boys' tournament, with Sam leading the pack through the first three rounds. John Sogorka of Eagle Crest and Chad MacMillan of Paragon also made the final round.

I'm really only scratching the surface here. Suffice it to say, our area is producing some pretty good young athletes, particularly as a percentage of our overall population of teens. I'm sure the parents and families of these youngsters are very proud, and we should be, too.