The Foothills Ringette U12C team had a tough go during their Regionals visit finishing in fourth place in De Winton and Okotoks but built strong bonds on March 22 weekend.

Assistant coach of the Foothills Fire U12C, Jaimie Nelson explains how the tournament went for them.

"It was amazing to watch the girls right from the very start. We played Cochrane, and Cochrane has always been that one team we are back-and-forth constantly between. We have built such a really good relationship with them," Nelson said.

"We just couldn't get enough going, but they tried, tried, and tried... and they never gave up. At the end of the day, they skated around and thanked all their parents. They even did a big slide at the end. Even at the end of the tournament, with not the result we hoped for, we still had lots of smiling faces and overall had a really good season."

Nelson said the parents and coaches were wearing costumes and really brightened the mood at the tournament.

"They did have a very successful year, they were playing in the Division 1 championships, which was the top four teams in the region. They were in the top four out of 13 teams all together in the whole region. Thats a pretty big accomplisment for a Foothills team that didn't win a single game last year, or were losing by 20-0," she said.

"I think just the determination and the mindset of it didn't matter if they won or lost, but they did it together as a team. They tried their best no matter what, and they never gave up. I think those are some big takeaways from the team this year."

Nelson expressed her gratitude for the team stating that this was one of her favourite years of coaching and gives credit to the players, coaches and families.

"I think getting kids, and especially females involved in sports, if we can find something that they love, and we can build lifelong friendships and relationships while keeping them active is an overall win," Nelson said.

Nelson mentioned that one thing she really enjoyed about this year's U12C team was the growth. At the beginning some of the girls had a tough time skating, but by then end they were "crashing the triangles" and getting involved as much as possible.

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