Emma_Cronk_Makes_Team_Ontario

Jeff Green | Jun 02, 2005

Feature article May 26, 2005

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by Jule Koch Brison

Im ready for this, says 16-year-old Emma Cronk of Parham, who has been chosen out of about 100 top young women basketball players from across Ontario to be a member of Team Ontario, the provincial womens basketball team.

The team will be competing at the Canada Summer Games in Regina, which will be held from August 6 to 20.

Spots on Team Ontario are heavily contested, and players have to survive many rounds of cuts. Last year Emma got her first experience of that level of competition when her junior Eastern Ontario team competed at the Juvenile Development Camp in Toronto and she was picked to be a member of the junior Team Ontario, the development team for the Summer Games. She spent the summer training and playing tournaments, some of which were in the US, where the Canadian team quickly learned to play a much more aggressive than they were used to in Canada.

Still, her experience last year did not guarantee her a spot on Team Ontario. She had to compete again at the Juvenile Development Camp this year and again survive many cuts after being chosen in the first pick.

Only one other member of her team last year also made it and is with her this year on Team Ontario.. Emma says she knows the other girls on her team, though; she has played them in the past as opponents.

Right now, Emma attends the training camp in Brantford every other week, but once school is out, the training schedule will be five days on, three days off The team will be touring and playing tournaments in Las Vegas in July, then its off to Regina, along with thousands of other young Canadian athletes.

Emma is the daughter of Lyn and Leslie Cronk of Eastern Cowboy Horseback Adventures in Parham, and is in Grade 11 at Sydenham High School.