WOLFVILLE, N.S. — Avi Adam says she never expected what seemed like a regular phone message would lead to finding out she’d be playing hockey at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
It was after a practice in December that Adam, 14, checked her cellphone and saw her Hockey Nova Scotia coach Kirk Tomlinson had called. She returned the call right away, and was hit with the news – she’d been named to the province’s 2019 Canada Winter Games female hockey team.
Another surprise was finding out she’d been chosen to join the U18 team since she’d tried out for the U16.
“I called him back, and he was just like, ’So congratulations, you made the team!’ and it was super emotional – I just kept thanking him over and over,” says Adam.
“I did not expect to make the team, or make anything close to that, but here I am,” says Adam.
Adam hails from Wolfville but currently lives in Rochester, N.Y., where she attends the Selects Academy hockey school at Bishop Kearney. She will be one of 20 teammates taking on the rest of Canada at the winter games from Feb. 15 to Mar. 3 in Red Deer, Alta.
Adam is now counting down the days until competition kicks off in February – she has an app on her phone helping her keep track – and says her training for the tournament includes both physical and mental preparation.
Since learning the news, Adam has been “trying to train super hard” to gear up for the competition. She and her Selects classmates are on the ice every day, but she says her routine goes beyond that ice time, with regular workouts nearly every day at the gym and puck shooting practice.
Adam says she also works on ensuring her head stays focused on the game. She will be the roster’s youngest player when she hits the ice in February – something she says she isn’t paying any attention to.
“I try and put that behind me – I don’t want to psych myself out or anything. I’m just like any other player on the team, and I’m going to try and bring what I do best,” she says.
As an offensive player, Adam says her biggest strengths she’ll bring to the team are speed and grit, along with a positive mindset and attitude.
“I work at getting pucks to the net, grinding it out in the corners, and just battling and being physical,” she says.
She’s no stranger to tournaments, having competed in one each weekend since joining the hockey academy, and having played internationally in France with the East Coast Selects team, run through the Rochester hockey school.
She says she’s also played in tournaments around North America, and that this experience is “good to have” heading into the Canada Winter Games – a tournament she says Tomlinson says he himself enjoyed more than the Olympics.
“It’s not international competition, but this is still a really big deal. Our team will know what to expect, but big teams like Ontario and Quebec will be hard,” says Adam.
“I think we’re going to be ready though, because we’ve each been through tournaments before, and we’ll bring that with us.”
Despite the experience, Adam says she and her teammates will likely still have some nerves ahead of hitting the ice as they represent their home province.
“It is still a lot of pressure, especially with so many people and because it’s structured like the Olympics,” she says.
“We’re just trying to give ourselves the best chance by being prepared.”
Adam is also a graduate of the Valley Wild Female Hockey Association and says several former teammates have been in touch after hearing the news.
“That support is really awesome and I’m so grateful. I’ve made so many friends and met so many people through hockey – it’s super cool to know a lot of people are rooting for you,” she says.
The two people rooting for her most are her parents, Mark and Katrina, who will cheer Adam on alongside “many other family members” from Nova Scotia and Alberta.
She says she’s been “really fortunate” that her parents have encouraged her, rather than pushed her, to chase after all of her dreams, including hockey.
“They’re the kind of parents who say, ‘whatever you want to do, we’ll figure you out and make it happen,’” says Adam.
“They’re so excited for me about this opportunity.”
Adam’s dream chasing is far from over once the competition wraps up. She’s already committed to joining Cornell University’s hockey program in Ithaca, N.Y., and after that, she says her sights are set on the biggest competition of them all.
“My dreams are to go to the Olympics, but I try not to think about how far away that is. I take this really seriously, but I always focus on taking it day by day too,” she says.
Adam says she dreams big, but always reminds herself to again work at keeping her head in the game as she continues her drills, shooting and workouts to continue becoming the best player she can be.
She says she’s never been able to decide which component of hockey she loves most – just that she loves it, and “wouldn’t play a sport I didn’t have fun with.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to answer what I like about it – there’s not one thing, it’s literally everything,” she says.
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